Youngsters from Barking and Dagenham College are celebrating after receiving their BTEC results.
About 450 students got their results from the college in Dagenham Road on Tuesday, August 10.
Among those celebrating was Stephen Annan Junior from Dagenham who earned merit passes in business studies.
Stephen said: "I feel great. It’s been a long year, but with hard work and dedication I’ve been able to get the results I need.
"I’m now planning to study finance at university as I’d like to become an investment banker."
Art and design student Emmanuel Oreyeni, from Barking, said he has been passionate about the subject since he was a child.
The 18-year-old became involved in the Thames Ward Community Project while in secondary school and when the country went into lockdown he ran weekly community online art lessons.
Emmanuel was delighted to get the results he needed to take up his place at University of the Arts London to study fine art.
Business studies student, Leonardo Da Silva, secured a distinction and two merit grades, meaning the 19-year-old will head to Anglia Ruskin University to study business.
He said: "My business BTEC has been a really good course. It’s given me ideas for the future for what I want to do.
"After I finish at university my goal is to set up my own company. Studying for my BTEC definitely gave me the foundation to do that."
Peter Wilson, from Dagenham, is also set for university having achieved distinctions in games art and animation.
He is due to study for a BA in game art at the University of South Wales.
The 18-year-old said: "We’ve been lucky to have fantastic tutors and although adapting to studying during a pandemic was tough to begin with, we did it and now we’re getting our results. I feel overjoyed."
Dilon Beqa, business lecturer at the college said: "These students who have successfully passed their level 3 BTECs have had most of their two year course spent during the pandemic.
"This has meant lots of change and has required them to adapt, which they have done to their credit.
"The class of 2021 should be incredibly proud of themselves."
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