A HEREFORD ceremony celebrating student successes will go ahead as planned, despite the Queen's death yesterday.
Around 100 students from Hereford College of Arts (HCA) along with 400 guests and dignitaries will be at Hereford Cathedral this afternoon (September 9).
This is to celebrate the youngsters' passing their degrees and recipients will be dressed in caps and gowns for the special event.
The college said that it has been in discussions with the Cathedral for the past few hours to ensure that it could go ahead as planned.
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The ceremony will also mark the announcement of actress Melissa Johns as a fellow of the college.
The former Coronation Street and Grantchester actress was raised in Ledbury and has a number of ongoing connections with the college.
Miss Johns will be doing a speech during the ceremony, along with HCA principal Abigail Appleton and Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Edward Harley.
A spokesperson for the college said: "This is a group who had their studies massively impacted by Covid, so we’re immensely proud that we’ve got so many students to this point.
"Obviously it’s a massive moment of celebration for the college and for the county as well.
"Every year we have a significant number of graduates stay in the county, and set up creative businesses here - and this graduating class will be no different."
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