The award will be collected at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 10. Photo: Croydon College

Croydon College is the first Further Education College in the country to be awarded The Queen’s Award for Volunteering.

The highly esteemed annual award will be collected at a ceremony at Buckingham palace on June 10, 2014. It is the equivalent to an MBE for groups that have shown outstanding achievements in improving their local community.

A-level student at the College, Amethyst Low said: “I am lucky to have been given these opportunities for volunteering and I recommend that every young person does some form of volunteering, it can be so beneficial on both a social and mental level.”

In 2013 over 1,500 Croydon students dedicated 18,000 hours of fundraising, awareness raising and campaigning for their local community.

Frances Wadsworth, Principal and CEO at Croydon College said: “Volunteering supports our community and improves students’ awareness of others’ needs, but we recognise it develops valuable employability skills too.”

Di Layzelle, Head of Croydon College Student Life, played a key role in Croydon College’s success with the Queen’s Award. Layzelle has been responsible at the College for finding new ways for students to give back to their communities. Lazelle said: “It should never be underestimated how much young people can achieve.” She added that she found her work with students both ‘exhilarating’ and ‘rewarding’.