Uxbridge College students and employer partners were honoured for their achievements by Great Britain and England international 110m Hurdler Julz Adeniran at an awards night.
The winners, from among the College’s 8,000+ full-time and part-time learners and its employer partners, celebrated with friends, family and staff at the Annual Awards Ceremony on 15 September. Winners were chosen from across the College’s academic and vocational programmes - including GCSEs, A-levels, BTEC qualifications, Apprenticeships and HNDs - and from among the 1,000 employers the College works with.
Successful students included overall winner Zanib Shahid (20), who received the Super Star prize, sponsored by Lloyds Bank, Commercial. Over four years of study, on Business courses and while completing maths and English qualifications, Zanib progressed from Level 1 to Level 3 – the equivalent of A-levels – and has now achieved a university place. She joined College in 2012 with few qualifications and very little spoken or written English, having newly arrived in the country from Pakistan. She also combined part-time work with her studies after being offered a job at W H Smith following her work experience placement there. An extremely hard-working student who represents the best of Uxbridge College, she is now going to the University of Roehampton to study Criminology.
Zanib was among a number of achievers presented with awards by Julz, who talked about his journey to becoming a competitive hurdler, his philosophy for success, and how his hopes for the 2016 Olympics were dashed when his Achilles tendon snapped while training. He encouraged the audience to focus on their goals, and emphasised the role of applying self-discipline in achieving success, as well as being prepared to keep going after failures and disappointments. He also talked about his hero Usain Bolt and even took a selfie with the audience while striking the famous Bolt celebratory pose.
Principal of Uxbridge College, Laraine Smith OBE, said: “Our Awards ceremony with special guest 110m Hurdler Julz Adeniran was a wonderful celebration of the achievements of all our students, the role of our employer partners, and the College as a whole – congratulations to everyone. For students we had a chance to recognise their many achievements, including their academic and vocational successes which are often achieved despite many challenges, and the many contributions they make to their peer groups and communities. Our awards in the employment-related training category were also a real reflection of how important business partnerships and work-based training is, not only to the College and our students but to our broader community as a whole. Julz was a real inspiration to everyone and made the evening really special, and I would like to say a big thank you to him for coming along to present the awards.”
Star and Special Award winners were:
THE ACADEMY
Star Award: Mini Kaur Crona
The Gavin Taylor Bursary Award: Megan O’Callaghan
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Super Star Award (Sponsored by Lloyds Banks, Commercial) and Star Award (Sponsored by Chartwells): Zanib Shahid
Higher Education Award: Raimonda Norvilaite
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Star Award: Alex Morton
Higher Education Award: Daniel McKenzie
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE STUDIES & ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Creative Studies Star Award: Courtney Doe
English Language Teaching Star Award: Jaspreet Kaur Singh
Ian Hebditch Award: Jonathan Sullivan
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Mechanical & Electronics)
Star Award: Andrew Lubega
Higher Education Award (Sponsored by Brunel University London): Lewis Molyneux
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Technology & Innovation)
Star Award (Sponsored by Nexen Petroleum UK Limited): George Perrior
SCHOOL OF HAIR, BEAUTY, HOSPITALITY AND EARLY YEARS
Star Award (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd): Kiran Bedi
The Comfort Simoyan Award (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd): Becky Jones
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE & FOUNDATION STUDIES
Health & Social Care Star Award (Sponsored by Buckinghamshire New University): Emma-Jayne Gozney
Foundation Studies Star Award: Marcus Davenport
SCHOOL OF SPORT. TRAVEL AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Star Award: Ashley Tribe
David Keating Memorial Award: Braian Bakiera
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Star Award: Dawn Mallett
EMPLOYERS AND APPRENTICES
Intermediate Apprentice Award (Sponsored by the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce): Kieran Smith
Advanced Apprentice Award (Sponsored by the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce): Priya Sembi-Harding
Apprentice Employer Award: One Care iT Limited
Work Experience Employer Award: Primary Sporting Development