Alumnae return to UCG’s City of Westminster College and College of North West London to present awards

Awards ceremonies have been held at United Colleges Group’s City of Westminster College and College of North West London to mark the exceptional achievements of students.

The awards were presented by guests including the Commonwealth gymnast Marfa Ekimova.  Marfa, who attended the City of Westminster College until 2023, was the all-round Rhythmic Gymnastic Champion at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 – becoming the first English gymnast to secure the title.

Over at the College of North West London, alumnus Andrew Onasanya returned to present an award. In 2024, he was given a Centrepoint Award by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in recognition of his work in fighting youth homelessness.

80 awards were presented in total, with worthy winners including Caydin Jamart-Browne, studying Access to HE Diploma in Medicine, who was presented with an Adult Learner Award.

With health barriers of his own. he is a civilian consultant on the Barts Health Trust Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Board and aiming to be able to study Medicine at university.

Commenting on his award, Caydin said:

“I’m thrilled to have won an award, and really glad that my hard work paid off and was noticed and revered by the college. I am proud to now sit on Barts Health Trust’s PPIE Strategy Board. We’re working on strategies to support community health and ways to reduce the disparity of clinical outcomes, as well as clinical research across several demographics, including Ethnic Minorities.”

Other winners include:

• Sidjay Theor, presented with a Governors’ Award.  Despite living in Surrey and travelling nearly two hours each morning, Sidjay enrolled on the College’s Occupational Specialism in Plumbing and Heating Engineering.  CWC is the only college that offers this course and so Sidjay has been taking a bus, a train and two tubes in order to attend.  With an attendance record of over 95%, Sidjay stood out to the Governors as a hard-working, committed and focused individual.  Throughout the course, Sidjay has proved to be an outstanding student in a very challenging discipline, requiring both technical knowledge and practical problem-solving across a range of competencies.
• Yasmine Taja, from Brent, awarded Improving Student of the Year for Health, Wellbeing & Care. Despite a difficult autumn term last year when she wondered if the course was right for her, whilst also dealing with personal challenges, Yasmine now attends lessons regularly, engages actively in class and shows a real passion for beauty treatments. She is also a class rep and has built strong relationships within the group.
• Beheshta, also from Brent, is the winner of our EDI Award. As City of Westminster College Student’s Union President, her enthusiasm an initiative has made a real difference, bringing students and staff together including through a huge range of cultural events such as celebrations for Eid and Chinese New Year.

Stephen Davis, Chief Executive and Group Principal of UCG, said:

“I was delighted to present awards to so many exceptional students whose achievements reflect their hard work, determination and resilience, often in the face of significant challenges. These awards recognise ambition and creativity as well as academic success, and I hope they inspire others across our student community to aim high. It was also a pleasure to welcome our alumni Marfa and Andrew back to share their stories. Their journeys of perseverance and success are inspirational, and they are outstanding ambassadors for United Colleges Group.”