TALENTED art students secured a host of top grades in their exams ensuring the 21st anniversary of a Barrow course was celebrated in style. Eight foundation art and design students at Barrow Sixth Form College secured distinctions and “extremely professional” work, ranging from stunning costumes and fashion to fine art, film character design and perfume branding.

Their final project work and sketchbooks went on display in a 21st anniversary exhibition.

Head of art and design Nikki Conigliaro said: “We are over the moon. These results show the strength of the students’ work and their talent is reflected in an extremely professional exhibition.

“They have all been dedicated and committed and developed work that is really personal to them, each project tells a story. Every student has worked in their own way and to their own strengths in a variety of techniques from traditional to digital-based media and we are very proud of them.”

The BTEC foundation diploma in art and design is a one-year post A-Level course to prepare students for entry to degree-level art and design programmes. It is a fast-paced curriculum designed to develop conceptual and practical skills so students can make the most of a university course.

Alumni include Amy Hardy who studied a BA Fine Art degree at University of London Goldsmiths, illustrator and textile designer John Booth who has worked with designers including Zandra Rhodes and John Galliano, Barrow artist Hannah Willetts and celebrated tattoo artist Kerry Irvine, who competed in the World Tattoo Championships in New York.

The present cohort have secured places to study degrees in subjects including fine art, graphic design, textiles and special effects model design. All 10 students passed, with eight securing distinctions.

Adult student Kerry Kosak received a distinction and achieved a lifelong goal after securing degree place to study textiles at Huddersfield University.

Megan Beckwith, of Askam, who is going to study special effects and model design at the University of Hertfordshire created an array of original characters for a comic and film as part of her final project, which was awarded a distinction. She said: “This course has opened up a lot of opportunities for me and it has been a really good experience. For my university course there are over 200 applicants for 15 places so it’s very competitive to get in, I’m really pleased I got my place.”

Poppy Cookson, of Bootle, will study fine art at the University of Cumbria after securing a distinction for her powerful exhibition on printmaking inspired by natural forms and structures.“I really enjoyed the course and we have learnt a lot from our tutors and from each other. It has been a great group.”

The foundation course started in September 1995 and was taught at sixth form on behalf of Cumbria College of Art and Design. It was taken over by sixth form in 2000 and this year 277 students will have completed the course. Foundation art tutor and technician at sixth form Andy Currie-Scarr, who is chairman of the Ulverston Society of Artists, completed the course before studying a BA Honours degree in animation and then a PGCE.