Member Article

TyneMet College Announces Local Award Winning Students

TyneMet students were named as winners at the North Tyneside Adult Learners Awards Ceremony 2011/12 on Thursday 20th September at the Village Hotel, Cobalt Business Park.

TyneMet College, the main sponsor of the North Tyneside Adult Learners Awards Ceremony this year, was delighted to learn that the categories of ‘Class, Group or Family Learners of the Year’, ‘First Full Level 2 of Full Level 3 Achiever or the Year’ and ‘Newcomer to the UK Learner of the Year’ had been awarded to TyneMet students.

These Awards recognise and celebrate remarkable and inspirational learning achievements of adults in North Tyneside. As local winners, the students will now automatically be nominated for the same award titles in the Regional Adult Learners Awards competition.

‘Class, Group or Family Learners of the Year’ category was awarded to the group of students studying on the ‘Certificate in Learning Skills Year 2’ at TyneMet College. The Certificate in Learning Skills is a course designed specifically for young people on the autistic spectrum to ease the transition into college and to assist in the development of social and communication skills to prepare learners for life and work.

This group of learners: Joseph Best, 18 from Dudley; John Griffiths, 18, from Chopwell; Allen Java, 22, from North Shields; Charlie Mitchell, 22, from Hexham; Daniel Thompson, 20, from Cramlington and Dale Wylie, 20 Morpeth have had huge successes both as individuals and as a group.

As individuals they have overcome their difficulties and become confident young adults who are prepared and able to move on into adulthood. Some of the learners are progressing onto TyneMet College courses which offer work experience built in to the programme, some learners are moving on to live in supported accommodation and one learner is progressing onto a Level 2 IT course at TyneMet.

‘First Full Level 2 or Full Level 3 Achiever of the Year’ category was awarded to Jack English, 37, from Benton, a former soldier, who successfully completed both his Level 2 and 3 courses in Counselling and is now going on to study the Foundation Degree in Counselling.

Jack was nominated for this award because of his commitment, dedication and hard work which ultimately lead to life changing experiences for him as a sufferer from PTSD. Jack a former volunteer at Norcare, a charity working with some of the most vulnerable people in the region intends to use his counselling qualifications to work with and help members of the armed forces who are suffering from PTSD.

Jack, said:

“Studying at TyneMet has helped me change my life around completely; I have really enjoyed the Level 2 and 3 Counselling courses and am looking forward to starting the Foundation Degree course. Whilst on the course I made some really good friends, we worked closely as a group and the other students helped me work through my experiences. The discussions in class were always open, honest and we all supported each other.”

‘Newcomer to the UK Learner of the Year’ category was awarded to Tahira Bhatti, 33 from Wallsend. Tahira came to the UK with her son as an Asylum Seeker in June 2008.

Tahira was nominated because of the passion she has shown for learning since enrolling at TyneMet in 2009. Having very little English, Tahira started on the ESOL Entry 2 qualification and in the first year she passed her Speaking and Listening and Reading and Writing units with exceptional grades. She then moved on to the Entry 3 course which she also passed with very high grades. Despite bringing up her son alone, without any family support, in a strange country, Tahira has a 100% attendance rate and cycles to College for each class.

To date she has passed Levels 1 and 2 in ESOL, Level 1 in Maths and Levels 1 and 2 in English at TyneMet College. She has also completed a CLAIT course at Long Benton Community College and a Data Base course at the Wallsend Peoples Centre.

Tahira continues to demonstrate her enthusiasm for learning and in order to gain qualifications to apply to study at university; she has now enrolled on to a Higher Education Foundation Diploma course at TyneMet.

Tahira, said:

“All of my teachers at TyneMet have been so helpful and so have the Gateway staff. They gave me the confidence to carry on with my studies, without them I would not have been able to achieve all that I have in such a short space of time. I am looking forward to my HEFC course.”

Jon Vincent, Principal and Chief Executive, TyneMet College, said

“The staff and Governors of TyneMet College are extremely proud of the achievements of all our learners who often overcome great challenges to achieve their qualifications and in so doing change their lives. The very positive impact of each learner’s achievements on their own future and their local community is cause for celebration.

TyneMet College continues to be committed to engaging responsively and effectively meeting the needs of individual students, employers and the local community. Access to learning for all is a key strategy for the College and some of our courses are delivered at various community venues.

For advice, guidance and information on how to return to learning or to discuss courses delivered at College or in the community, call 0191 229 5000 and speak to a Gateway advisor, alternatively visit our web site www.tynemet.ac.uk or e-mail enquiries@tynemet.ac.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lisa Dawson .