Staff at South Cheshire College are celebrating once again after achieving Best Companies 'Star Status' for 2008.

The high-flying college has landed a single star status (first class) award and is part of an elite band of organisations in the UK to achieve the recognition.

A total of 653 high-profile companies applied initially for accreditation but only 307 (47%) were successful.

South Cheshire College remains the only Further Education college to appear on the accreditation list produced by Best Companies Ltd - an organisation dedicated to improving life in the workplace.

The Crewe College, which is one of the leading FE and tertiary colleges in the country, will also feature in the Best Companies Guide 2008 which is set to be published shortly.

For the past two years, the College has also appeared in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For List finishing 61st in 2006 and 58th in 2007.

Sheelagh Salter, Director of Organisational Development at the College, said: "This accreditation is another excellent achievement for the College and we are very pleased.

"It builds on previous awards that we have achieved and our appearance in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the past two years."

The accreditation was based on surveys carried out amongst thousands of employees up and down the country to measure employee engagement in the workplace.

Accreditations were announced at a special celebratory event at The Cumberland Hotel in London.

Sheelagh added: "I'd like to say a big thank-you to all the staff who have contributed to this success. Awards like this highlight the team effort throughout the organisation."