Bradford College

Grade One Awards ‘09

Bradford College proudly celebrated success with its Grade One Awards Evening. The awards ceremony was held in the Level 6 Restaurant, to pay tribute to teaching staff at Bradford College who have achieved grade one in the latest Ofsted inspection - one of the highest accolades possible in the teaching world!

Over 60 teaching staff achieved grade one in the inspection and were honoured for showing true dedication and real pride in their work.  These outstanding members of staff have helped play a vital role in shaping Bradford College into the innovative institution we know today.

The award winners enjoyed a formal dinner, prepared cooked and served by students from NVQ Hospitality and Catering, whilst students from the Performing Arts Department provided the evenings entertainment.  The glittering performances entertained and captivated award winners and guests throughout the night.

Assistant Director of Quality, Improvement & Performance, Debbie Forsythe Conroy was Master of Ceremonies.  In her opening address she said: “We are here to celebrate your success this evening and to acknowledge the significant role you have played in reshaping the College into a good College”

Debbie continued:  “Our learners will remember the quality of their experience at Bradford College and will talk about it for years to come.  Our goal is to aim for the overall grade one and we need you to sustain and share excellence in classroom practice.  After all this is where it begins for our learners.”

Debbie concluded: "Tonight is your night – we hope you enjoy it and on behalf of the College - thank you for your hard work in moving the College closer to its goal."

During the course of the evening, awards were presented for outstanding teaching to staff from across the College. Michele Sutton, OBE, Bradford College Principal and Chief Executive presented award winners with their certificates, congratulating each worthy winner.

Paying tribute to the success of the staff in the Ofsted inspection, Michele said: “I’m really delighted to be here again celebrating the teaching success of such a large number of our grade one teachers, not all of whom could be here with us tonight.  It’s a testimony to our teachers that our students do so well. As Debbie outlined earlier, their role now is to share their good practice with other teachers in the College, so we can become an outstanding institution.”

Speaking at the Awards Evening, Executive Director of Finance, Mr Doug Stott remarked: “I’ve seen the hard work, effort and commitment that our staff have put into improving Bradford College - and this evening is a testament to that.”

Doug added:  “We have people here this evening that are receiving awards for the third consecutive time, which demonstrates the quality of the teaching and learning at the College.”

Director of Corporate Services, Andy Welsh commenting on the evening which recognises staff achievements said:  “It makes me feel extremely proud and privileged to work for the College, knowing there are so many staff that show true dedication and real pride in their work - and go that extra mile.”

Summing up the evening with pride, Kath Oldale, Executive Director for Performance Management said: “Its been a privilege to celebrate the achievements of our staff this evening. We’re extremely lucky to have so many excellent teachers at Bradford College, who have demonstrated fantastic ability and achieved grade one in the Ofsted inspection.”

Hairdressing Lecturers, Jackie Sharp and Lindsey Ratcliff have both been noted for their excellence in the classroom during previous inspections.  Commenting on the memorable evening, Jackie said: “It’s wonderful to be here this evening to be acknowledged for our teaching and learning within the Hairdressing Department.”

Lecturer, Lindsey Ratcliff added: “It’s lovely to be recognised for the work and effort we put into the College.  We do it to ensure our students have the best experience at Bradford College.”

When asked how Jane Marshall, Healthy College Manager felt about being recognised for her outstanding performance in the Oftsed inspection, she replied: “I’m absolutely thrilled to receive this award. It’s a real privilege and so nice to be appreciated! I look forward to making further contributions to the College in the coming year.”

Lecturer, Jane Davies, Sport & Recreation said: “Its been a wonderful evening and it’s lovely to be appreciated by the wider College.  It’s also great to meet people from other departments, to share in a joint celebration of our success.”

Achieving a grade one in her lesson observation, Psychology Sixth Form Tutor, Linda Mckeon modestly remarked: “I feel very happy to be awarded grade one.  I don’t think it’s difficult to get a grade one, when you’ve got the right students.  I think we’re very lucky in the Sixth Form Centre as we’ve got fantastic students that tend to do what is required of them, which makes our job really easy.”

English Sixth Form Tutor, Elizabeth Barrett smiled and added: “I agree with Linda.  I don’t think I would have achieved a grade one without my students being so cooperative, lively and fantastic.  They’re what makes the lessons go with a swing!”

Lecturer, Peter Hac attended the awards evening, accompanied by colleagues from the Engineering Department.  Peter said: “At College we’re special people.  We change lives, and enable people to learn and look after themselves and in Engineering we help aid technology, without which we would go back to ploughing up the fields with the pelvic bones of a giraffe.”

Expressing her delight at attending the memorable event, Engineering Lecturer, Maria Emmott added:  “It’s great to have the opportunity to socialise with colleagues and to celebrate together.  I think there should be more evenings like this as they’re extremely sociable.”

When asked how it felt to be recognised by the College and also in the Ofsted inspection, dedicated lecturer, Derrick Hogan replied: “It’s a privilege and pleasure to accept this award and it’s a reflection of the teamwork and dedication within the department. We all work as a team and we want to achieve the best for the students.” 

• Grade One  Awards '09 – Gallery
• Performing Arts Students – Gallery