Member Article

AIM Awards Student Wins Prestigious Award at Westminster

“Amazing”, “inspiring” and “life changing” – some of the words used by Award winner Ben Hide from Boston College, to describe his experience after scooping the prestigious Keith Fletcher Memorial Prize for Access to Higher Education (HE) students at a ceremony at The Palace of Westminster.

The Awards celebrate student success and recognises their achievements. Ben took to the stage to share his experiences. Ben said “I am so proud to be the recipient of this Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. I know the history of the Award and for my name to be added to the list of winners is such a personal achievement – it’s just amazing. I would like to thank all at Boston College for their continued support and also AIM Awards for providing such a great qualification – it’s certainly been a challenge but that makes it even more rewarding.”

Rachel Hunn from Boston College said “The Access to HE team at Boston College were thrilled to hear that Ben Hide is the 2016 winner of the Keith Fletcher Memorial Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement as he is a very worthy winner and to get recognition at a national level promotes the hard work and effort that all adult students put in to successfully complete their Access to HE Diploma, whilst often juggling family and work commitments. The support and encouragement offered by AIM Awards to put forward a nomination was excellent and we were able to do this with ease as the guidelines were clear and the deadline manageable. This mirrors the highly professional and expert guidance and support that AIM Awards offers in every aspect of the outstanding service it delivers.”

Linda Wyatt, Chief Executive at AIM Awards said “We are delighted that Ben’s achievements have been recognised by this Award. The Access to HE Diploma is a unique qualification that has enabled thousands of adults to improve their life chances for over 30 years.”

The Award is in memory of a well-loved and much missed colleague - Keith Fletcher. Keith dedicated his career to promoting Access to HE before sadly passing away in November 2010. The first Keith Fletcher prize was awarded in 2011 and continues to be a prestigious event.

The day was hosted by Nik Dakin MP at Portcullis House on the Parliamentary Estate at Westminster on Monday 27th March 2017.

The winners all spoke passionately about their experience on their Access to HEDiploma including praising the teaching staff and support they received. Perhaps most poignant was the message that Access to HE does not only change lives by supporting progression to university but also by the confidence it instils and the way it allows students to demonstrate and realise their own abilities and aspirations.

With over 40,000 students being registered on an Access to HE Diploma every year, the winners of the Prize should be incredibly proud of their achievements. AIM Awards is an experienced and dedicated Access to HE Access Validating Agency, who has been accrediting qualifications for over 20 years and are experts in Access to HE and in supporting providers in every aspect of their delivery. AIM Awards pride themselves on key values of being Friendly, Flexible and Fair; these values ensure that they support their providers at every stage while offering a speedy response to all queries. They aim to get to know all of their providers to create a friendly working relationship and at moderation act as a critical friend, giving guidance and support while maintaining a robust quality system.

AIM Awards offers a model that is hard to beat, expert staff, flexible provider choice in both Diplomas and moderation, engaging events, innovative systems and comprehensive support all for a competitive price.

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Photo Ben Hide with AIM and Boston College. Left to right. Ian Hartley – AIM Awards Access & Regional Business Development Manager, Rachel Hunn – Access to HE Programme Leader, Ben Hide – Winner, Michelle Stevenson – AIM Awards Access Quality Manager

For further information please contact Dawn Spendlove

Love Marketing | 32-46 King Street | Alfreton | Derbyshire | DE55 7DQ

07967 674319 | dawn@lovemarketing.org.uk

Note to Editors

AIM Awards is an experienced and dedicated Access to HE Access Validating Agency, who has been accrediting qualifications for over 20 years and are experts in Access to HE and in supporting providers in every aspect of their delivery. AIM Awards pride themselves on key values of being Friendly, Flexible and Fair; these values ensure that they support their providers at every stage while offering a speedy response to all queries. They aim to get to know all of their providers to create a friendly working relationship and at moderation act as a critical friend, giving guidance and support while maintaining a robust quality system.

www.aimawards.org.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dawn Spendlove .