December is the end of my Diploma student’s year; with the course nearly over they have to prepare for their end of year show. This is the culmination of all their hard work, pulling together all their best projects to display to the public, friends and family. This year we tried a new way of displaying the work and departed from the banners that we have used for the past few years. The students were allowed to create their own displays. It was incredibly successful and they all took on board that less is more and not to include everything and kitchen sink! I find myself with such mixed feelings at this time, immensely proud of them and all the high quality work that they have produced but also really sad to see them go. Then there is the anticipation of the next group, will they be as hard working, as much fun, as challenging and creative? I don’t know why I always worry, as the new students are always as good as the previous group and fired up with enthusiasm for the year ahead. So here we go again!

Nick Day's project close up
Nick Day's final show of work