Fourteen days left to vote for Outstanding Personal Achiever of the Year Award - read the shortlisteds' stories here.
There are just two weeks left for people to voe for the Outstanding Personal Achievement Award in the North East's CoLaS Awards. The Celebration of Learning and Skills Awards Ceremony will be held in Gateshead on 20th June and will showcase learning excellence in the region.
The Outstanding Personal Achievement Award is one of 12 award categories but is the only one with a public vote. There are four individuals on the shortlist:-
Judith Richardson
Nominated By - Pauline Forster, Community & Cultural Services Community Development Department
At one time, just getting out of the house was an achievement for Judith Richardson, from Hetton. Judith’s turning point came during one of her rare and feared trips outdoors when a panic attack left her lost, disorientated and bemused in a place she knew well. At that point, she realised her children were becoming as much parents to her as she was to them.
Through the Hetton community based learning project, Judith, age 30, also undertook assertiveness training, psychology and various ICT courses. With LSC North East funding, Numeracy and Literacy Level 2 qualifications followed before she enrolled with the City of Sunderland College for the first time and successfully completed a Level 2 Functional Skills qualification and two Adult Teaching Level 3 courses.
Judith has subsequently trained to be a learndirect facilitator, and in September last year she completed the first stage of the Level 4 Adult Teaching qualification and is on track to collect her cap and gown at the end of the course.
Judith said about her achievements: “I know how valuable support and learning can be. It can be truly life changing. Of course I want to improve myself, get out of the benefit culture and be a role model to my children but helping others to do the same is a big driver for me.”
Darren Prendergast
Nominated by – Christine Graham-Scott, Tyne & Wear Care Alliance
Darren, 19 and from High Heaton in Newcastle left college with only one basic qualification after struggling for years with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite lacking confidence in his academic abilities, he showed a talent for fishing and dreamt of pursuing a career within the industry.
The change in Darren’s fortunes came about because of his keen interest in fishing. He approached his Connexions advisor who directed him to the Tyne and Wear Care Alliance which offered a place on the Give it a Go Project, enabling Darren to embark on a 20-week training course in fish filleting with Sea Food Training in North Shields.
Each day he would cycle 11 miles to begin work at 7.30am and after finding comfort in his developing abilities he adapted to the practical training and quickly gained confidence in his role.
He said: “Even though it’s been a short time, I feel like I’ve come a long way since my days at college. I am more confident in what I’ve learnt and it’s helped that my trainer gave me a lot of support. It just shows that hard work does pay off.”
Darren completes his training in May, and over the past five months has achieved a recognised Manual Handling qualification, Sea Survival Certificate, Fire Safety and First Aid qualifications and his proudest achievement, a fork lift truck licence.
Amy Armstrong-Coates
Nominated by – Mrs Rana Coates
Teacher Amy Armstrong-Coates never tells her pupils that schooldays are the best days of their lives, because they weren’t for her.
Bored and disengaged in the classroom, she was such a problem pupil that she was put on report in the hope that close supervision would turn things around, and it did.
A change of head teacher and the chance to study drama also helped re-engage Amy with school and she eventually chose to stay in the classroom, becoming an English teacher at Manor College in Hartlepool.
Said Amy, 23 and from Sedgefield: “Fortunately I realised what a mistake I was making in time to scrape together enough GCSEs to continue in education. I think a new head teacher who took an interest in me and the chance to study drama, together with my parents’ encouragement, made me see what opportunities I was wasting.”
Amy recovered her learning drive to gain A levels and a BA Honours degree in English at Leeds Metropolitan University, followed by a post graduate certificate in education at Durham University where she is now also studying towards a masters in education.
Jagjeet Singh Hans
Nominated by – Anita Blackburn, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College
17 year old Jagjeet Singh Hans plans a career as a brain surgeon after completing A level studies in biology, chemistry and further maths at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington.
Jagjeet has overcome many obstacles on his route to success, being the first of his family born in England and learning to become fluent in English and Punjabi.
Jagjeet has surpassed his goals and taken on extra learning at sixth form college in the form of an Open University course in molecules, medicine and drugs, which many his age could not contemplate.
As a constant high achiever, Jagjeet was put forward for the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Olympiad, where he was the first student in his college’s history to get to the second round and become one of the top 10 young chemists in the country. He will be the first of his family to enter higher education when he takes up a place at university later this year.
Armed with practical skills acquired from work experience at his local GP surgery and St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington, he is confident he can make an easy transition from A-Level to degree and beyond.
He said: “I always strive to surpass any goals I set for myself and I can’t wait to start university later this year. My aim is to become a surgeon and I am intrigued by the field of neurology so I plan to dedicate myself to my studies over the next five to six years.”
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