Bradford College

HKF Award Nominees Announced…

Bradford College are proud to sponsor the Helena Kennedy Foundation Awards (HKF). The HKF was established in 1998 to provide bursaries to deserving FE students who have overcome significant personal and financial hardship to complete a further education course and progress on to higher education.

Earlier this year the College promoted the HKF Awards in a bid to help students, inviting them to submit an application form to give them the chance to win a £100 College prize and the opportunity to be put forward for the HKF Award.

Over the years HKF has helped hundreds of students from over 180 FE sector Colleges progress and graduate from university. Nominees picked by the HKF to accept an award each received a £1000 bursary to support their progression on to HE. The lucky award winners will also be offered on-going personalised support throughout their time at College and beyond.

Having received numerous applications the College selected the ten best applicants and rewarded them with £100 each before putting five outstanding applications forward for a HKF Award.  The five students selected to go through to the national awards are in with a chance of winning a £1500 bursary and support from the foundation throughout their education.

This is 4th consecutive year Bradford College have taken part in this worthy event. Over the past two years the College has successfully won awards. Last year’s winners, Corinne Bosley, Sherrie Highley and Amanda Simpson fought off stiff competition from over 250 students to win Helena Kennedy Foundation Awards and a £1500 bursary from the foundation. 

A presentation ceremony was held at the College, to reward the students for their hard work and commitment to their studies.   Michele Sutton, OBE, Bradford College Principal & Chief Executive and Nick Byrne, Assistant Director, Learner Services presented ten Bradford College students with a cheque for £100 each, on Thursday 13th May 2010.

Nick and Michele congratulated the students and talked about the importance of progressing through education from Further Education to Higher Education. Nick said: “I’m honoured to present awards to such deserving students. Bradford College has taken part in the Helena Kennedy Foundation Awards for the past two years and I’m delighted to have been involved in the selection and awarding process. The quality and standard of the applications we received was incredibly high. As a College we are extremely proud that our students have won a bursary in the last two consecutive years and we hope for success again this year.”

Speaking at the award ceremony, Michele said as she presented the cheques to the students: “I’m delighted to present these awards to our students. The Helena Kennedy Foundation Awards is a fantastic way of acknowledging students and their commitment to furthering their education. Everyone receiving an award has shown dedication, commitment and the knowledge that qualifications are the key to career progression and success. It’s always a pleasure to celebrate the success of Bradford College students.”

The Helena Kennedy Foundation Award winners will be announced later this month and the College hopes that a Bradford College student will be successful in winning one of the bursaries.

Executive Director of Finance, Mr Doug Stott at the presentation ceremony said: “This is a fantastic event for students; they’re all significantly disadvantaged, usually financially and that’s why we’re here to help.”

Speaking at the event, award winner Jackie Suubi said: “It feels like I’ve been rewarded for all my hard work over the last few years.  When I first joined the College nearly three years ago, I was really nervous. With the help of the Bradford College tutors I’ve really grown in confidence.  This award means a lot to me as it means I’ve tried my best and achieved what I set out to do.”

Jackie dropped out of school at an early age and decided to return to education as a mature student. For Kenyan born Jackie, English is also her second language. The 24 year old single mum enrolled on an Access Course in Humanities and Social Sciences at Bradford College when her baby was just 9 months old.  Jackie juggled childcare commitments with study.  Jackie smiled and said: “It was difficult.  I had to do her bottles in the morning, get dressed and then rush off to college.  Then I’d rush home to get meals ready, change nappies and do bottles in the middle of the night.”

Jackie continued: “Being a mother has made me more determined to succeed.  Its made me reassess my life.  I feel like I need to provide for my child and for myself. I need to have an education to get a decent job.” Jackie is now looking forward to a shining career, with plans in the pipeline to study Economics and Psychology at University.

Sixth Form Student, Wasim Ahmed is studying for his A levels at Bradford College.  He described his experience of Bradford College as life changing and was thrilled to be nominated for the HKF award.  Wasim explained: “When I was at school, people had a negative perception of college. They seemed to think it was for people that had dropped out or messed up.  I’d heard different things.  I really wanted to come to college to have a different experience and become more independent… to learn in an environment where people treat you with respect.  I feel I’ve got that here!”

Wasim added: “I’m really happy to have been nominated for this award – it means a lot to me and not just because of the financial support linked to it. It’s also about the additional support they provide in terms of careers information and help preparing for higher education.”

Student Emma Highley is studying Photography, expressing her delight at being nominated for an award, Emma remarked: “It’s great to be nominated for this award.” Despite the odds, Emma has overcome adversity to gain an education; she explained: “I left school at 16 as my brother died whilst I was studying for my GCSEs. I didn’t want to go straight back into education after he passed away. I went to Huddersfield college the year after and then discovered I was pregnant half way through, so I had to drop out.  I knew I didn’t want to become one of those ‘sit at home mums’ and end up in a dead end job where I couldn’t go any further.  This made me think properly about what I wanted to do. I decided to pursue a career in Photography, as it’s always been something that I’ve loved, so I thought, why not make a career out of it.”

Emma has never looked back since she came to Bradford College, Emma reflected: “I absolutely love being here and doing something I feel passionate about.  Sue Griffiths my Photography tutor is brilliant.  She’s really helped me a lot!” Emma will continue her education at Bradford College and study for a degree in Photography. 

To see the award nominees gallery click here.