City of Westminster College celebrated the hard work and talent of its learners at its annual Student Awards.
The ceremony took place at the College’s Cockpit Theatre on 9 December in front of an audience of students and their families, stakeholders and staff. The keynote address was given by leading social entrepreneur and founder of the charity MyBnk Lily Lapenna, who talked about her personal journey and how she was inspired to found a charity that would inform and engage young people with the process of taking control of their finances.
Lily was introduced to the award winners before the event and said of the experience: “Reading about the award winners and meeting some of them in person was incredibly inspiring. Their energy and dedication is contagious - they are our future leaders and knowing that they have immense potential fills me with hope and excitement.”
The College is grateful to the sponsors who have made this year’s event possible. They are: Capita Education Resourcing; Colibri Press; Keeley & Lowe; Kerton Distribution; Knight Frank; McLaren; MOD; Network Learning Centres; Probos Promotions; schmidt hammer lassen; Stace LLP and Stephenson Harwood.
There were 22 awards in all, representing all study areas. The winners were chosen as outstanding examples of hard work and determination – singled out by their tutors for achieving the very best from their learning experience and for their contribution to the life of our College.
Read their stories here:
Faysal Abdulle Originally from Somalia, Faysal came to the UK in 2004 after completing his secondary education in Holland - so English is his third language. He was nominated for a Faculty Star Award twice last year while studying on the Access to HE Diploma in Business and was a model student. His hard work and excellent results were all the more remarkable because throughout this time he was supporting himself in a job as well as studying. In the final exams Faysal received 79 credits – only 3 less than the maximum and he is now studying Business at Middlesex University. We are delighted to recognise his achievements with this Award.
Sabina Begum City & Guilds ITQ Level 2 student Sabina never missed a lesson, was always on time and completed work to the very best of her ability. Quite regularly, she would arrange extra lessons when she was in need of particular focus or support. Having worked hard enough to progress onto the next level and apply to university, she has shown us all just how much can be achieved through consistent hard work. As an added bonus, she is always unfailingly polite and cheerful. We’re delighted to be able to present this Award in recognition of her excellent attitude and academic progress.
Sadie Kryeziu Bejtullahu Despite many personal commitments, not least of which is her large and active family, Sadie managed to attend all classes on her ESOL Adult Evening Level 3 course last year and pass two of the modules. At times, she found the course challenging, but through sheer grit and determination Sadie managed to succeed and also improve her English considerably during the process. This Award recognises the resolute and determined effort made by Sadie, and we wish her the best of luck in finishing the last module this year - and for her career plans following from this.
Jessica Dono Jessica has many qualities that enabled her to be successful on her chosen course of CACHE Level 2 Diploma in Children’s Care and Education. During the course she was reliable and punctual, and made a positive contribution in lessons as well as producing work of a consistently high standard. Highly regarded by other students in her group, Jessica was voted in as Class Rep, a responsibility she took very seriously. She was very supportive of her fellow students and this same mature and helpful attitude meant she received very positive feedback from her work placement. In fact, Jessica was offered paid work in a nursery. Jessica has now progressed onto our Level 3 Health & Social Care course at Queen’s Park, where she continues to do very well. We are delighted to present Jessica with this well-deserved Award.
Abdallah Rashid Joining the College from Education Otherwise, Abdallah wanted to study Business and after a successful interview, he joined the Business and ICT Level 1 course. Once with us, he worked extremely hard and demonstrated a mature approach to his studies. This helped him to produce some very good marks and he completed the course with an impressive five distinctions and three merits in assignments. Abdallah is now on Level 2 Business and this Award recognises both his commitment and his huge achievement in his studies.
Bereket Yigzaw Joining the Life Skills course through the Cardinal Hume Hostel project for young people Bereket defined his learning goals on day one as: “to feel confident to cook a range of dishes, become settled in the hostel and get to know some of the other young people”. If grades were given for the Life Skills course, Bereket would be a straight A+ student as he achieved far more than the goals he set himself. He became an excellent, creative and confident cook and put others at their ease by being interested in their stories and encouraging their aspirations. He is an exceptional student because of his thirst for knowledge, his punctuality and attendance and his desire to help make the sessions safe and fun. With many difficulties to overcome in his personal life, Bereket has still approached learning with enthusiasm. It has been a privilege to teach him and we’re delighted to celebrate his success with this Award.
Marie Baker Marie joined Personal Best with the goal to gain her first Level 1 qualification and improve her confidence in order to find a new job, so this Award recognises both her commitment and the fact that she has achieved her ambition. From the start, she showed empathy and when she had completed her task work was always willing to help others. As part of The Personal Best Programme, participants complete 30 hours volunteering and Marie has been a fantastic ambassador for the College - always punctual and well presented. Marie had always been interested in working for the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and, having completed Personal Best, she attended sessions to update her CV and application form techniques before applying for a volunteer role there. We’re delighted that Marie was successful – she is now volunteering two days a week at the CAB and begins training as an advisor in February.
Melissa Boulet-Ngando Having joined the College in 2007 on the BTEC National Diploma Travel & Tourism course, Melissa soon became involved in the Students’ Council and was elected Vice-President. Melissa didn’t achieve all that she wanted in her first year, so decided to stand again and was successfully re-elected. During her time in this important role, Melissa initiated the first Women's Day as part of the Enrichment Programme. She co-ordinated a highly successful fashion/talent show for students and also took the photographs for the ‘Wear your ID’ College poster campaign. Melissa was also a great support to other students, offering advice on personal and study matters. She set herself a goal to improve her performance within the Students’ Council and achieved this over two academic years – and we are pleased to recognise this with a Student Award. Melissa has also been successful in her studies and has now moved on to study Event Management.
Alam Mohammed Alam joined the College on our First Diploma in Art & Design and progressed onto the National Diploma in 2008. His personal and academic transformation were a pleasure to witness. Not only was he a studious and focused learner, but he became a role model to other students. Alam demonstrated that he can take responsibility for his learning and has the ambition and drive to achieve his ambition of a career within the field of interior design. We wish him the best of luck at university and congratulate him on this Award.
Alex Sterling Alex joined the Foundation Degree in Audio Technology course in 2008 as a mature student, looking to re-train as a sound engineer (he had already had a successful career as a professional musician). He achieved excellent results in his first year and was nominated as Student Rep by his peers this September. This Award is in recognition of Alex’s excellent academic record, his attitude and his contribution to the College. He is a model student, consistently punctual with a spotless attendance record. He has the ability to elevate and engage the entire group and is a genuine asset to the class. Students who have previously excelled within the School of Sound have gone on to work in the industry at the highest level – and we are confident Alex will do the same.
Mikhail Clarke Mikhail epitomised the ideal student to his A Level tutors in Law, Psychology and Sociology. His punctuality and attendance was exemplary and the work he produced was always of excellent quality. He was also able to show just how much he’d learned from reading all the recommended books that were suggested by his tutors – they all found him a delight to teach. Mikhail also played a full role in College life as his Class Rep. All of his hard work has paid off as he was rewarded with straight A grades in his A Levels – earning him a well-deserved place to study Law at UCL. We would like to congratulate him on this well-deserved Award and wish him every success in his future career.
Sophie Eleanor Sophie joined our Chemistry and Biology Intensive A-level programmes, having not previously studied any sciences at this level. Despite this, she did extraordinarily well by gaining A grades in both subjects. In lessons, Sophie was able to pick up new concepts easily. She always completed not only the set homework but also extra pieces to an extremely high standard. She also excelled at practical tasks and was able to collect detailed observations, which she recorded with the requisite accuracy. An excellent team player, Sophie worked well during group activities. This Award recognises her consistent commitment and dedication to her studies and sheer determination to do well, and we wish her luck with her application to study Medicine at university.
Howard Ellis Howard joined the College’s Foundation Degree in Clinical Physiology as a mature student after working for the London Ambulance Service for many years. He found a position at the Royal Surrey Hospital and joined our first cohort of Foundation Degree students in 2007. He quickly settled into studying and was a fine role model to the other students, showing them what can be achieved at any time in life. His hard work was rewarded when he achieved a distinction and he has now progressed onto the BSc in Clinical Physiology here at the College. We congratulate him on this Award.
Charlotte Quiling A Level student Charlotte joined the College in 2006 and took a rather too carefree approach to her studies in her first year, as she would probably be first to admit. It is immensely to her credit that she turned her performance around to the extent that she achieved grade A in Communication Studies and Bs in Media Studies, Film Studies and English Literature. As well as being a pleasure to teach, Charlotte was a great ambassador for the College in her capacity as Student Helper on Open Days, as anyone who met her will testify. Charlotte is now studying Media and Communication Studies at Goldsmith’s College and we feel sure that her vivacious personality, diligence and perseverance mean that she will fulfil her ambition of a career at the BBC.
Naweed Rahman Naweed made an immediate impression in his first tutorial by announcing: "My name is Naweed and I intend to devote all my energy and effort into securing a place at a top university to study Economics”. This he did by being hardworking and diligent and his three As at A Level are a testament to the fact that application and determination pay dividends. Naweed was never shy of expressing his point of view, which often led to healthy debates in tutorials. He was always on time, did all the work set and was an example to others. He was also a real pleasure to have in the class and his appetite for Economics was contagious. We wish Naweed every success with his studies in Economics at Bristol University and congratulate him on this well-deserved Award.
Jean Charles Tallon As a mature student, Jean faced extra hurdles – not least of which was holding down a full-time job while studying. Having decided to retrain to be an accountant, he worked studiously to complete the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT Levels 2-4) professional accounting course. Jean was always in class on time, was nominated Class Rep for each of the three years he was with us and would support his colleagues by helping them to catch up with work. Jean also instigated the setting up of course team meetings at every level to give students the opportunity to meet lecturers and discuss issues. We are delighted that Jean passed all his exams during the first sitting - a rare occurrence with the AAT. This Award honours not only his dedication to his studies, but his contribution to the life of the College. He has effected change that has made the AAT course better for all students – and we’re delighted he now has the letters MAAT after his name.
Hazal Bulbul Hazal joined BTEC National Diploma for ICT Practitioners in 2008 and got off on the wrong foot. After a discussion with her tutor, she turned things around overnight and became, quite simply, a model student. Always on time, she also worked hard to complete all her assignments to an excellent standard – achieving distinction grades. Hazal is now in year two of her course and is on track to achieve her goal of studying Computer Science at university. This Award is recognition of Hazal’s transformation. Not only has she proved her abilities, but she is also a courteous, determined and impressively level-headed student who deserves a very bright future.
Jaye Daniel Jaye is in the second year of his Certificate in Basic Plumbing and joined the College to retrain – lacking any sort of construction background. Despite the steep learning curve, the work that Jaye produces in practical lessons is always of an extremely high standard. He is also an avid listener in theory lessons and is the first to ask questions. Jaye is also diligent - always seeking to expand his knowledge and spending many hours revising on past lessons - and this is reflected in his excellent exam results. This Award has been given to Jaye because he has excelled in all areas of the Plumbing curriculum and has also been a real pleasure to teach thanks to his commitment and attitude.
Renato Dias This Award is given to congratulate Renato for his outstanding progression within the School of Engineering & Motor Vehicle. He started his journey with City of Westminster College in September 2005 as year 10 student from St Augustine’s in Kilburn Park. He studied for his vocational GCSE in Engineering at the College for two years alongside the GCSEs he was taking at School. After this, Renato decided to enrol as a full-time student of Motor Vehicle Engineering. He completed the City and Guilds Levels 1 and 2 in Automotive Vehicle Servicing and is currently studying at Level 3. His tutors are delighted to see his progression – essentially he has successfully completed his 14-19 curriculum with us. He has been a consistently excellent role model for his peers and we feel sure that he will achieve his goal of a successful career in the Motor Vehicle trade.
Sian Gentle Sian joined the College in 2008 on our E2E Construction course, as one of only two female learners in the class. Then, after the other student dropped out, she became one female in a group of 17. This did not stop Sian from thriving within the group – indeed, she became a highly valued member of the class. Sian’s attendance and punctuality were consistently perfect and she completed all tasks on time and passed all her modules. Despite some personal upheavals, Sian overcame all challenges to achieve a BTEC Level 1 in Construction. She was one of a few learners who sat for the online CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) test and passed. Sian has now progressed onto a Level 2 Plumbing course at the College and this Award recognises her terrific achievement and personal and academic growth.
Khadija Mahmud receives this year’s Governors Award for her determination and achievement. Joining in 2007 as a Performing Arts student, she battled through many personal challenges to successfully complete her National Diploma. Khadija’s personal circumstances meant that her attendance throughout her first year of her course fell below the College’s minimum expectation. Supported by the Student Support team, Khadija made a promise and commitment to her teachers, her course and - most importantly – herself. She started attending every lesson every day, making a significant contribution to her course and meeting its demands. Khadija’s results demonstrate that anything really is possible with trust, self-belief and good old-fashioned hard work. We are absolutely delighted that Khadija is now studying Criminology at Middlesex University. City of Westminster College is proud to have worked with her and pleased to present her with this year’s Governors Award.
Deborah Awoyo receives this year’s Students’ Council Award for outstanding work as Student Governor. She was elected by her peers in May 2008 and proved to be a wonderful asset to the Governing Body in spite of pursuing a very full course of study. In Corporation meetings, Deborah expressed her views effectively on key strategic issues and she was also diligent in her attendance at full Governing Body meetings, as well as those of the Quality, Standards and Students Affairs Committee. She was always quite clear about her goal of strengthening the learner voice throughout the College. Deborah represented the College in her capacity as Student Governor and was a marvellous ambassador. When Deborah attended the annual conference of the Association of Colleges in November 2008, she spoke eloquently in public meetings, and her contributions were noted very positively. Deborah also attended an MPs’ reception at the House of Commons to celebrate Further Education Colleges’ contribution to London and spoke with great enthusiasm about her experiences at City of Westminster College. We would like to thank Deborah for her contribution to the College and the wider student community and we are pleased to recognise her efforts through this Award.