Six diligent and dedicated students from Leeds Sixth Form College are celebrating their outstanding results after achieving high grades in the The Scholars Programme.
The programme gives pupils aged 9-17 from schools and colleges in the UK the opportunity to work with a PhD researcher across a range of disciplines including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), arts and humanities and social sciences.
The 12-week course also helps students develop knowledge, skills and confidence to progress to the most competitive universities in the country.
Students, Alifa Rahman and Muhao Mwangala attained first class honours in a STEM subject, while Mujib Osmani and Grace Tingay attained a lower second class. Humanities students, Mila Appleby and Qasim Hussein also achieved high honours.
To launch the Autumn term, students attended a series of live, online events with university partners such as Bath University, Exeter University and University of Bristol, among others.
The live events introduced pupils to the programme and gave them a taster of student life at one of the most competitive universities.
Graduation event at University of Exeter
Students took part in a remote graduation event with the University of Exeter to celebrate their achievements. The event included a welcome from The Brilliant Club, and a session led by the university of X, to give pupils further information, advice and guidance.
Dr. Elisabeth Protopapa,Head of Academic Studies in Leeds Sixth Form College, said: “This is another fantastic year for our students who have really applied themselves to the additional work required to successfully complete the programme.
“I am proud of them as they persevered through a very challenging time to complete the final elements of the project remotely, following lockdown. They all rose to the challenge and I have no doubt that they will go on to achieve great things at university and in their chosen careers.
“The scholars programme is a well-known and respected initiative across the education sector. It is highly sought after by Russell Group universities as it recognises and celebrates students for having the right academic approach for continuing their studies at degree level and beyond.”
Dr Lawson, Programme Officer for the scholars programme, said: “The final assignment is supposed to be challenging, being pitched at a level above where the students are currently working at in college. We recognise that this academic year has continued to present challenges for schools and colleges, and so we are particularly pleased that the students were able to submit their assignments and do so well.”
More than 200 researchers across the UK worked with over 4,000 pupils in 263 schools to deliver the programme this academic year.
He has become the second player from the Development Academy team, following the signing of Mekhi Bridgeman-Reaney earlier this year, to sign a professional contract with the Rhinos.
FULFILLING A CHILDHOOD DREAM
Kyden is one of seven members of the Academy squad to have just signed with the rugby league club. A lifelong Rhinos fan, he declared himself ‘over the moon’ – and credited the role of his community club, Milford, and the Development Academy in helping him reach this stage.
He said: “It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. Wearing that jersey which I’ve always wanted to wear, for the club I’ve supported since I was a little boy, is something I’ve wanted to do since I started playing rugby.”
Although usually a full-back, Kyden, who helped the Development Academy team reach the College Cup final this year, has already scored a couple of tries on the wing for the Rhinos Under-18s.
THE DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY’S PROFESSIONAL SET-UP HAS IMPROVED MY GAME
He said: “It’s a good feeling scoring for the Rhinos and hearing the crowd there cheering you on and getting behind you really drives you on.
“I played for Milford from a young age up until last year, when I moved into the Rhinos Academy and also played for the Development Academy team, which was great.
“I got to my first ever final and, although we didn’t get the result we needed, to play in my first final at Headingley was a special experience. Everything about the Development Academy is so professional and it’s good because you’re playing in a different environment from your club team, with a different set of mates.
“Some of those lads have never played competitively before so it’s a really good grounding and you definitely learn a lot from the coaches, which helps improve your game.”
Kyden, who is studying a level 2 Fitness Instructing (gym) course, is determined to now push on and reach the very top level of his sport.
He added: “Hopefully if I keep working hard then eventually I’ll reach the first team, because that’s the next goal I want to achieve with the club.”
Leeds City College student-athlete Kyden Frater, who has signed a contract with Leeds Rhinos
The Development Academy is part of Leeds Sports Connect, which offers quality education and training through a link between Leeds City College and Leeds Sixth Form College and a number of local, professional sports clubs.
Deputy Principal of Leeds Sixth Form College, Ryan Grant, said: “The Development Academy team has had a fantastic year and to see another of their players sign up with the Rhinos is testament to that.
“Kyden has thoroughly earned this opportunity and we’re confident he will achieve great things as he pushes on to the next level.
“Making amazing opportunities like this achievable is the driving force behind the development academy, and Leeds Sports Connect – so it is really rewarding to see student-athletes like Kyden take their chance.
“We’re really proud of him!”
To learn more about the Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Development Academy click here.
Harrogate College has been nationally-recognised, for a second year running, for its continued commitment to sustainability.
The college has been awarded the bronze level Modeshift STARS accreditation for promoting sustainable and active travel in the community. This is just one of many aspects the college is changing to incorporate more sustainable practice, as well as its focus on preparing people with green skills.
The college has been promoting green business practices across the district over the past 18 months and will step up its support for the electric vehicle (EV) sector through the introduction of a new course in September.
It also hosted the launch of the first ever Harrogate Climate Action Festival, which saw hundreds of people come together in October 2021 to hear from sustainability-focused exhibitors.
Holly Hansen-Maughan, Partnerships & Development Manager at Harrogate College, said: “Sustainable travel and transport is just one part of the college’s commitment to sustainability.
“As an education provider committed to sustainability and supporting the local economy, we are continually finding ways to educate our students and staff on becoming more environmentally friendly, so it’s great that our work is being recognised again by the Modeshift STARS award.
“We are dedicated to empowering young people by enhancing their understanding of environmental issues, and recently offered Carbon Literacy Training to all staff and students. We also encourage learners to participate in the various environmental campaigns and activities we run through our enrichment programme.
“Our aim is to work with local organisations and businesses to meet their needs – this includes developing courses for emerging technologies and green skills which contribute positively to the environment.”
From September, all courses at the college will consider how sustainable practice and green skills impact that curriculum area.
The college is focused on becoming a local centre of green excellence and as outlined in its Sustainability Pledge, is committed to working towards becoming net zero carbon by 2030.
To find out more, or to get your business or organisation involved in future projects, contact Holly Hansen-Maughan at Holly.Hansen-Maughan@harrogate.ac.uk.
Launched in 2008, the STARS Education scheme is supported by the Department for Transport and has seen over 1,400 schools in England achieve accreditation since its inception.
It’s been an unsettling two years for so many reasons, and examples of racism and injustice continue to emerge in all areas of public life. The most recent of these, accusations of endemic racism levelled against Yorkshire County Cricket Club over its handling of allegations by Azeem Rafique, have created a new storm on social media. This follows the racial abuse ignited by the Euro 2020 football finals, and shows that eighteen months on from the global Black Lives Matter movement, we still have a long way to go in tackling racial inequality. Incremental progress has been made, but recent events demonstrate that flattening the firmly-embedded anchors of white privilege is not a quick fix.
It was great to see the united support from organisations across the country for Black Lives Matter last year, but we need to go beyond a symbolic approach to tackling injustices. As an education group, we’re committed to doing all we can to break down barriers and ensure we’re operating in a fully inclusive environment that seeps into our everyday lives.
What can we do to tackle racial injustices?
Education has a key role in identifying and tackling racism. A year ago, members of Luminate Education Group; Leeds City, Keighley and Harrogate colleges, pledged to:
Create a five-year plan to build anti-racism actions into their college cultures.
Provide development and training opportunities to address discrimination and unconscious bias, and embed support for students and staff dealing with the effects of racism.
Develop and deliver an anti-racist, inclusive curriculum.
The five-year Race Equality Roadmap, which was developed by the Luminate Race Equality Forum, aims to dismantle structural barriers to inclusion, engagement and progression, leading to a more just organisation for everyone. The project is a significant piece of work, supported by senior members of the group, including a dedicated governor. It focuses on organisational culture, inclusive and diversifying leadership, staff career development, decolonising the curriculum and developing stakeholder and community partnerships.
This isn’t just a box ticking exercise, it’s the beginning of a cultural shift to encourage self-reflection, including acknowledgement of entrenched negative beliefs and unconscious bias which serve to reinforce inequality.
It is our responsibility as educators to question, challenge and understand the roots of racism and its impact on those who experience it. People of minority ethnicity continue to be under-represented in the further education workforce, and are significantly less likely to occupy leadership positions. Consequently, our students from minority ethnic backgrounds are not exposed to enough role models in leadership or the classroom and our colleagues of minority ethnicity experience barriers in progressing their careers.
Conversations about race and racism have focused in recent years on individual behaviours and addressing our unconscious biases, yet whilst reflective practice and honest discussions will build an inclusive and safe culture, this does not necessarily address deeply entrenched inequality in society.
Gains for anti-racism are insecure: there is an emerging backlash against anti-racist dialogue in educational and public authorities in the USA, where a number of states have banned the Critical Race Theory from the curriculum, while the publication of the UK Parliamentary Report chaired by Robert Halfron MP (June, 2021) into educational outcomes for white working-class children led to opinion pieces in the FE sector counterposing economic disadvantage and racism in a fight to the bottom of a disadvantage hierarchy. The underpinning assumption, unquestioned in our work at Luminate, is that racism does exist, and disadvantage in opportunity, social and economic inequity and lived experience of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in the UK is well reported and evidenced in inequity in a range of indicators including criminal justice, education outcomes, health, housing, the law and civic life, as highlighted in the recent Runnymede Trust report.
How can we lay the foundations to create meaningful change?
At Luminate Education Group, we’re building beyond data and quantifiable information by focusing on collecting accounts of experiences, thoughts and ideas from across the staff and student body to help us recognise and address both structural disadvantage and the unconscious bias we all have: college is a microcosm of the society we live in and a ground-up approach, opening two-way communication channels, is fundamental for the success and longevity of our Race Equality Roadmap. We want to create a lasting impact shaped by lived experience, that seeps into our communities and share best practice with other education providers and organisations as a reflective process to instigate meaningful change.
As a restorative organisation we aim to connect with people; building on the relational aspects of college life, drawing on trauma-informed practice and recognising the impact of adverse experiences, we offer a range of training and awareness raising opportunities for staff, including how to engage with people from diverse backgrounds, developing the skills and confidence to address discrimination and we recognise the impact of poverty and social disadvantage in our work.
As a society we have a long way to go in weeding out racism and discrimination, but collectively, we can continue to sow the seeds that will lead to a more harmonious world.
Leeds City College’s Student Life Directorate has been awarded MindMate Friendly status for its commitment to improving the social, emotional and mental health of their students!
To achieve the standard the college completed an in-depth assessment focusing on safe spaces, teacher training and tackling wellbeing concerns.
The department was also recognised for its outstanding contributions to support services for students across areas that include leadership, policy development, curriculum, assessment, and school ethos.
Sue Pennycook, the Healthy Schools Advisor at Leeds City Council who worked with the college, said: “This is an outstanding self-validation for the college, with particular strengths in pupil voice and support services. Their partnership work is strong, especially being the first post-16 education provider to win the bid for the Mental Health Support Teams.
“There is a genuinely whole-setting approach, so curriculum staff and teaching staff are all fully aware of the wellbeing support.”
Student Wellbeing Manager, Gemma Williams, said: “Student wellbeing is at the centre of what we do as a college.
“Being awarded the MindMate Friendly status is a fantastic achievement. We understand the importance of supporting our young people and the award demonstrates the work we are doing to continually improve the student experience.”
The MindMate Friendly programme was launched as part of the Future In Mind: Leeds Strategy; a city-wide programme aiming to support young people’s emotional and mental health. The strategy involves working with schools and colleges to help them achieve Mindmate Friendly status, and then Mindmate Champion status.
The Hair and Beauty Training Academy at Leeds City College’s Printworks Campus is a cut above the rest by offering free haircuts to members of the local community.
A group of hairdressing and barbering students are providing the service to those across the district who are homeless, job seeking, refugees, asylum seekers and members of mental health organisation, Andy’s Man Club.
Maxine Edwards, course leader within the School of Hair, Beauty and Media Makeup, said: “As a college based in the heart of Leeds, we are committed to serving the members of our community as much as possible. We appreciate that not everyone can afford a haircut, so we’re encouraging those who are less fortunate to let their hair down and get a cut with us.
“Whether clients are wanting a quick trim or a dramatic restyle, our talented students are happy to help. As stylists, we understand how having a haircut can make a huge difference to an individual’s self-esteem and confidence – and we’d like to offer this service as widely as possible to boost the wellbeing of our community.”
