News & Press
Education Minister Michelle Donelan MP praised Uxbridge College’s “fantastic work” following a recent visit.
Minister Donelan said: “Further Education is a big priority for this government. That’s why we recently announced an additional £400 million for sixth forms and colleges next year - the biggest injection of new money in a single year since 2010.
“Uxbridge College are doing fantastic work to make sure more young people can gain the skills they need to progress and secure rewarding careers. It was great to meet students and staff, and see how the college is preparing to deliver new T Levels from September 2020, and working with employers including Heathrow and Fujitsu and Brunel University London to provide high-quality technical training through the West London Institute of Technology.”
The high profile visit focussed on the college’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) provision, including the new West London Institute of Technology, run under HCUC, the merged college group for Harrow College and Uxbridge College. Minister Donelan is overseeing major changes in the UK around how technical skills are taught, having recently taken over Ministerial responsibilities including the introduction of T Levels and the national Institute of Technology (IoT) programme.
The Minister visited electrical and electronic engineering workshops and classrooms, chatting to students and staff and finding out more about their theoretical and practical teaching and learning. She discussed HCUC’s work to develop both its Institute of Technology, and to introduce T Levels, the new technical qualification equal to three A Levels and including an industry placement, next year.
Dr Darrell DeSouza, Principal of Uxbridge College and CEO of HCUC, said: “It was really pleasing to be chosen for this visit by Minister Donelan and to have a chance to show her our excellent academic and practical facilities. It was also extremely interesting to discuss the key work taking place in Further Education and with employers towards equipping more young people with technical qualifications and work skills in these sectors, and increasing STEM provision, and any additional funding for Further Education is undoubtedly always welcome. It’s a great privilege for HCUC to have been chosen both to head up the West London Institute of Technology and to provide T Levels, and to have such a high level visit in support of our work.”
Minister Donelan is pictured second left with Principal of Harrow College and HCUC Deputy CEO Pat Carvalho (far left), Dr DeSouza (third left), and the Minister’s Private Secretary Alex Jones.
HCUC is at the helm of one of just 12 collaborations selected nationally to set up an IoT, working with partners Brunel University London, Fujitsu, Heathrow and West London Business. IoTs provide higher level STEM education - HNCs, HNDs, and Higher Apprenticeships, which are equivalent to up to two year’s undergraduate study (Level 4 and 5). T Levels (Level 3) will be offered in Childcare and Digital Production, Design and Development from 2020, and no other London FE College has been offered the T Level pilot by the Government for the launch.
Standout students from across Uxbridge College were honoured with awards from multi-award winning entrepreneur and author Junior Ogunyemi.
The author of the revolutionary book, “How to be a Student Entrepreneur” gave an inspirational talk and presented the awards at a glittering ceremony. Junior proved a hit with the audience with his unique presentation style and great motivational tips - including his advice to treat failure as feedback.
The young people and adults from the college’s broad range of full and part-time qualifications and Apprenticeships celebrated their personal, academic and vocational successes at The Beck Theatre in Hayes along with friends and family. They were joined by employers from among the 1,000 who work with the college providing work placements, on-the-job training for Apprentices in 25 sectors, and other link activities, who were also recognised for their support.
Students had achieved good grades but a number had achieved maximum results, overcome additional challenges, made outstanding progress, or gone beyond the call of duty for their communities.
Winners included:
Klaudia Piorkowska - Super Star and Star Award for Health, Social Care & Creative Arts. Klaudia has made excellent progress in her studies in Health & Social Care, from Level 1 in 2017 to Level 3 this year. She has trained as a mental health ambassador so she can give support to other students, and even before this was a listening ear to her peers giving sound advice. She supports and raises awareness of issues such as homelessness, looks for positives and learning opportunity in every experience, and brings sunshine everywhere she goes in her own unique style, including coming in dressed as Father Christmas during the festive season. She hopes to become a counsellor.
Kulsum Shaikh - Star Award for the Sixth Form Centre. Kulsum studied GCSEs at Uxbridge College and went on to A Levels and is now in her second year. Absolutely determined to study Medicine at university, she is doing everything possible to prepare, attending lectures and outreach days at King’s College, and Cambridge and Oxford Universities, completing a placement at the Wolfson Institute at UCL in her holidays, and volunteering at a charity shop.
Travis Williams - Star Award for Business, sponsored by M4Money Credit Union Ltd. Travis achieved the highest possible grades in his BTEC Level 3 in Business - three Distinction stars - and won a place on a degree in Fashion Branding & Creative Communication at the Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts. He also runs his own clothing business called ALL4SUCCESS and photography business, shotbytravis.
Renee Perkins - Star Award for Hair, Beauty, Hospitality, and Early Years, sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd. Renee made fantastic progress in her Level 2 in Professional Cookery with both her theoretical and practical work and is now progressing to Level 3. Extremely polite and passionate about the industry, she challenged herself to take on a work placement at Colham Manor School, gaining great feedback from the Executive Chef in this busy kitchen which provides meals to 900 schools across the borough.
Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited - Apprentice Employer Award. Martin-Baker has the highest number of mechanical engineering apprentices of any employer working with Uxbridge College, with eight apprentices in 2018/19 and a further three being enrolled this year. The company has extremely high standards of training, and also employs a number of learners on the college’s HNC in Mechanical Engineering (equivalent to the first year of university study).
Sponsors of the event also included Dennis Williams Ltd, Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce and John Guest Ltd, and The Gavin Taylor Bursary Fund awarded a total of £1,500 to students progressing to Higher Education.
Dr Darrell DeSouza, Principal of Uxbridge College and CEO of the merged college group HCUC (Harrow College Uxbridge College), said: “Here at Uxbridge College we are incredibly proud of our students’ dedication and achievements all year round, but it’s even better to be able to take a step back and take the time to really celebrate. I’d like to say a big thank you to Junior Ogunyemi for joining us this year to make it such an inspiring evening.
“Our winners are all different whether they’ve overcome the odds to progress up the ladder of qualifications within the college, gone on to university thanks to their A Levels or BTECs, or learned or gained formal recognition of professional skills. One thing they’ve certainly got in common though is that we think they’re amazing! A massive congratulations to everyone!”
Performing arts students from the college’s music, dance and technical theatre courses at the Hayes campus also took part by providing the entertainment - the Can, Can, Can from the film Moulin Rouge and the choral song Seasons of Love from the musical Rent.
Star and Special Award winners were:
SIXTH FORM CENTRE
Star Award: Kulsum Shaikh
The Gavin Taylor Bursary Award – Winner: Harmeet Gulati
The Gavin Taylor Bursary Award – Highly Commended: Melika Setareh
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Star Award (Sponsored by M4Money Credit Union Ltd): Travis Williams
Higher Education Award: Sophie Masters
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Star Award: Mona Alboukharey
Higher Education Award: Jay Pankhania
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Mechanical & Electronics)
Star Award: Vikesh Sampath
Higher Education Award: Jack Dove
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Technology & Innovation)
Star Award (Sponsored by John Guest Ltd): Ronnie Woodman
SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING, LEARNING SUPPORT & FOUNDATION STUDIES
Star Award: Bakri Ahmed
SCHOOL OF HAIR, BEAUTY, HOSPITALITY, EARLY YEARS AND PERFORMING ARTS
Star Award for Hair, Beauty, Hospitality & Early Years (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd): Renee Perkins
Star Award for Performing Arts: Keeley Winter
The Comfort Simoyan Award (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd): Weris Dubad
SCHOOL OF HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE & CREATIVE ARTS
Super Star Award and Health, Social Care & Creative Arts Star Award: Klaudia Piorkowska
Ian Hebditch Award: Tasnia Alam
SCHOOL OF SPORT, TRAVEL AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Star Award: Beata Ostrowska
Higher Education Award: Zaneta Kasperuk
David Keating Memorial Award: Tomass Petrons
EMPLOYERS AND APPRENTICES
Intermediate Apprentice Award (Sponsored by Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce): Jack Marriage
Advanced Apprentice Award (Sponsored by Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce): Paulina Colaco
Apprentice Employer Award: Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited
Work Experience Employer Award: Kingsley Court Care Home - Healthcare Homes Group.
Three friends celebrating excellent GCSE results at Uxbridge College are among those on their way to further study thanks to their achievements.
Science students (left-right) Nazila Nadiri, Iqra Razzaq and Simranjit Kaur, are all coming back to college to do A Levels then plan to continue to university, whilst others who completed Maths or English GCSE alongside their vocational qualifications are now able to take up their degree places.
Uxbridge College Sixth Form Centre, which offers a full-time one year GCSE programme for students who are either doing the exams for the first time or who have not fulfilled their potential at school, achieved a 67% pass rate at GCSE grades 9-4 (equivalent to the old A*-C).
The college’s top performer at GCSE this year was Iqra Razzaq (18), who achieved grade 9s - the equivalent to top scores at what used to be A* - in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, a grade 8 (formerly A*) in Maths and a grade 6 in English (formerly B).
Iqra, who took her GCSEs for the first time at Uxbridge College after moving to the UK from Italy to study, said: “Uxbridge College is a good college and I am really happy to have chosen it. The teachers are nice and friendly and work hard to help you achieve your goals - although you have to study hard too. I have made a lot of friends and I am glad to be continuing A levels. I am planning to go on and study medicine.”
Nazila Nadiri (18), who also wants to study medicine and was taking GCSEs for the first time, achieved grades 9 in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and grades 7 in Maths and English. She said: “I am very happy with my grades especially as I thought I was going to fail maths - it was very hard! I think I have progressed as a person at Uxbridge College, as well as getting good results, the teachers have been very helpful.”
Simranjit Kaur (17), who also achieved high grades in Maths, sciences and English after taking GCSEs for the first time, said: “I am happy with my results and it is thanks to the teachers and the extra classes when needed that I have done so well.”
Jack Harris, Head of Uxbridge College Sixth Form Centre, said: “Our one year full-time GCSE students have shown a strong performance yet again and we are very pleased to see so many of them progressing to A Levels or other Level 3 qualifications in vocational subjects. Whilst our students do not do the same number of GCSEs as at school, as they are completing the programme over just one year instead of two, it is still a demanding programme which is only successful thanks to the hard work and high standards of students and staff alike. Congratulations to everyone.”
In addition to the full-time GCSE programme, students who took GCSE English and/or Maths alongside vocational programmes are also celebrating.
Emadeddin Golpayegani (18), completed a BTEC Extended Diploma in IT at Uxbridge College this year, but needed to pass his GCSE in English at grade 4 or above, which he studied alongside his Level 3 Diploma. He is now off to study a degree in Software Development at University of Westminster after achieving a grade 6 in GCSE English.
Anastacia Korshoonoff (17), who has achieved grade 5 in both her English and Maths GCSEs during her first year alongside a Level 3 Performing Arts course at Uxbridge College, now plans to apply for a degree in acting at Drama School.
Dr Darrell DeSouza, Principal of HCUC (Harrow College Uxbridge College, the merged college group) said: “I am delighted to see so many students in a position to go on and study at a higher level either at college or beyond thanks to their GCSE achievements at HCUC. As well as the many opportunities that come out of our successful one year full-time GCSE programmes, students who have not yet achieved Maths and English or need to raise their grades in these subjects, can make that essential step to get them into university or other Higher Education programmes.”