Abingdon & Witney College Teacher Wins Tutor of the Year Award

A teacher from Witney has won an outstanding award at an impressive gala dinner in Stratford-upon-Avon last week, where the winners of the 2019 Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Training Provider Awards were announced.

Up against colleagues from across the private and public training sector, it was Abingdon & Witney College’s Karen Walker who came away with the prestigious AAT Tutor of the Year award.

Karen has worked at the College for 15 years, teaching on the accounting courses from Level 2 to Level 4, following on from her career in Finance and has been described by her colleagues as an ‘inspiring, generous and collaborative member of the team’.

Her students’ achievement rates are regularly 20% above the national averages and many students comment on her excellent support, knowledge and dedication, especially for those who have had challenging situations during their time on Karen’s courses. One student said, ‘Karen is my amazing teacher. She has given me so much, not only teaching, but hope. During my studies I lost my Mother to cancer. Karen kept me going and went out of her way without asking to support me. I will always be grateful to her’.

The AAT judges were impressed with Karen’s innovative approach to teaching employability skills by doing, promoting and developing key practical skills that businesses and universities demand.

This included a hugely successful social action project involving Witney Community hospital, where students would visit elderly patients. The patients relied on these visits, often describing them as the highlight of their week. This is a testament to Karen’s generosity of spirit for both helping her local community and offering young students an opportunity to build their skills and confidence.

Vernon Anderson, AAT President, said:

“The AAT Training Provider Awards are a magnificent opportunity to celebrate success. Each year, our students, training providers and tutors put in a significant amount of hard work, and this represents the best way in which to formally recognise their achievements. We are inspired by our winners and applaud the high level of attainment reached by all those shortlisted.”

On winning the award, Karen said:

“To receive an award for doing a job I enjoy so much is amazing. The AAT courses have changed people’s lives and I love hearing how well my students have done after achieving their qualification. I am very privileged to teach such hard working and dedicated students on our Accounting courses at Abingdon & Witney College. It is my mission to make the classes a supportive but challenging environment that they look forward to.”