Suzy Drane Awarded Honorary Fellowship from NPTC Group of Colleges

On Friday 13 July, Suzy Drane, Wales & Celtic Dragons netball captain was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from NPTC Group of Colleges at their annual Graduation Ceremony in Swansea University’s Great Hall.

Welsh Netball star Suzy Drane shared the stage with more than 200 graduates at the College’s 12th graduation ceremony. Her Fellowship recognised her sporting successes locally, nationally and internationally. Suzy Drane is the longstanding captain of Wales’ international netball team. She made her debut for Wales in 2005 and became Wales’ youngest ever netball captain aged just 23 and has represented Wales on 95 occasions.

Students from across NPTC Group of Colleges – one of Wales’ largest colleges serving the communities of Neath Port Talbot, Powys, Swansea and Bridgend – came together to celebrate their shared success surrounded by friends and family.

Speaking after the event, Suzy expressed her joy at receiving an Honorary Fellowship, but stressed that the real honour was to share the stage with the real heroes of the day: the students who had worked so hard to graduate.

Suzy said: “It is the students’ hard work that shines here today, and it’s fantastic to be able to share their achievements.

She added: “I would like to thank NPTC Group of Colleges for bestowing this honour on me and I look forward to working with the Group in the near future.”

Catherine Lewis, Chair of Welsh Netball and NPTC Group’s Deputy Chief Executive shared her admiration for Suzy and her career. She said: “Suzy is an amazing individual. She is first to train, first to compete but more importantly first to support. […] Both on and off the court she has shown herself to be a fantastic ambassador for Welsh Netball and Wales.” 

As well as offering traditional post-16 A-level and vocational courses, the NPTC Group of Colleges is a key provider of adult education and delivers a wide variety of Higher National Diplomas, Higher National Certificates, Foundation Degrees and Degree courses as a fully accredited member of the University of South Wales, Trinity Saint David, Glyndŵr University and Swansea University.

You can read more about the graduation and Honorary Fellowships here. 

All images courtesy of NPTC Group.