Bridgwater College has picked up two Somerset Education Business Awards – for its competition to design a footbridge and its course for football coaches.

Fourteen of the awards, organised by Connect South West, were handed out at a ceremony in Taunton last week.

Bridgwater College and BAM Construct won the diploma/vocational award, for devising a competition for 40 engineering diploma students to design a footbridge, which will be built later this year during the construction of the new Chilton Trinity Technology College.

Russell Dawkins from Bridgwater College, Lorna Lewis from BAM, and Chilton Trinity students Zoe Middleton, Connor James and Sophie Fieldhouse picked up the award.

The winning footbridge design is due to be announced this Thursday.

Jason Gunningham, of Bridgwater College, and John Murphy, of Prodec Education, also picked up the education business link project award.

Their collaboration has helped provide the first NVQ qualifications anywhere in the South-West for the coaching, teaching and instructing of football.

Another winner was Justine Brown and the JSB Team hair salon in Burnham, who picked up the small business award. Justine, a former student of King Alfred School in Highbridge, was nominated by the school for providing regular work experience placements for students.

Also nominated in this category were Aspen Waite, of Bridgwater, and Automania and Avenue Tennis Club, of Burnham.

All the winners received an engraved glass trophy.