Be Ambitious Awards 2024

Towards the end of the 2023-24 academic year, A1 students participated in our flagship Be Ambitious programme. Following a successful launch in 2023, Be Ambitious Week this year, with 1270 students taking part in employer-led projects, work placements and workshops.

All students worked extremely hard throughout the week, which was sponsored by Stamford Products Ltd, Project Opal and Carpenter, and the standard of work they delivered was highly commended by employers. To celebrate their hard work and participation, our Careers and Employability Team hosted an awards event.

Numerous students received nominations by employers and members of staff that supported Be Ambitious week.

The categories and winners were:

Vocational Awards - Health & Social Care

Georgia Smith "Georgia was an amazing addition to the team she worked with. She worked hard supporting everyone in whichever way they needed, and always demonstrated compassion and kindness. Georgia supported the service users when making cards and crafts for learning disability awareness week. She also helped people to weigh and mix ingredients to make a cake. Georgia is great at adapting to the different levels of support each person needs and responds positively and appropriately at all times. Her placement thanked Georgia for her contributions and the commitment she showed whilst working alongside them."

Katelyn Winstanley "Katelyn excelled in placement last year and received amazing feedback from both the nursing home and the hospital ward she was on. Kate regularly visited the residents at the nursing home in her own time as well as scheduled placement days and went above and beyond in her commitment. She was described as mature, professional and empathetic in her feedback and as an asset to the college."

Vocational Awards - Education

Millie Roylance "Millie had a proactive attitude to placement, is a great team player and received excellent feedback from supervisors."

Freya Kelly "Freya attended an approximate additional 50 hours in placement. Not only this, but she volunteered and excelled in all aspects of placement. Well done!"

Vocational Awards - Sports Coaching

Ruby Embrey "Ruby did a full week placement in a local physiotherapist practice and had an amazing report from her supervisor. She was praised for her professionalism and showed a real inquisitive mind. Due to her level of commitment and interest in the placement she went back the following week to do some extra sessions."

Ruby Kieran "Ruby has been working as an assistant coach for Inspired Futsal, working with the 5-11yo Wildcat Girls Group each Friday for the last 6 months. On top of that she has worked every day of the last three holiday camps that we have ran and on the most recent summer camp, second week, Ruby led group one, which is the youngest group (5-7yo boys and girls) and came up with some great ideas for them , as well as supervising them at lunchtimes and on toilet breaks, etc.  Ruby is always there early and works hard whilst she is there, demonstrating a great work ethic and commitment. She has also gained level 1 football and futsal qualifications whilst at college."

Vocational Awards - Business

Denis David "Denis really made the most of the week.  He was highly motivated and wanted to make a lasting impression. Which he did. He was always on time, asking meaningful questions and developed his knowledge of the working world.  He gained valuable insight by shadowing a Manager. Truly impressed by his efforts and maturity.  The feedback from the employer was glowing."  

Aleena Imraze "Aleena spent the week at Oasis Academy Clarkfield, a primary school in Oldham. She was very pro-active, professional and had great attention to detail when supporting the development and learning of the year 3 class. The pupils in the class really liked her and she was able supported pupils of all abilities in class activities. It was clear that the school and pupils really appreciated her being there."

Teamwork

Teamwork requires delegating tasks, playing to team members strengths and collaborative learning. This isn't always easy as people work in different ways, but team work is about creating solutions and positive outcomes.

The nominees for Teamwork are:

• TMBC - Local Government: Phoebe Needham, Guy Barnwell, Stella Walls, Shalom Mazazda, Jake Cowdell Harrison, Jake Mitchinson-Aldred, Thomas Stackhouse, Joe Bentley, Rahima Quarashi
• CITC - Sociology: Elijah Walker, Emilie O’Donnell, Freya Nolan
• Morsons Projects - Team Zenith: Euan Lee, Thomas Wallace, Oliver Chadwick, Cheuk Wong, Alfie Fung
• Kellanova: Luke Garton, Faaz Khan, Finlea Sullivan-Hadfield, Niamh Clegg
• Self-placement at Manchester United: Daniel Crudden, Henry Davies, George Almond
• Locala: Alice Knight, Anna Holmes, Christian Whitaker, Luke Morris
• University of Arden - Criminology: Molly Steen, Darci Weston, Inayat Rahman, Evie Davies

The award goes to:

TMBC – Local Government "They really have been outstanding. What fantastic students. I was genuinely agog at the knowledge and hard work from all students. I’m really proud that Ashton Sixth Form College is in my ward – it’s a real jewel."

Outstanding Presentation (Team)

As the presentation (in whatever form it may have been) was the concluding element of the project, some students really thought outside of the box and created high-standard presentations as a team.

The nominees for Outstanding Presentation are:

• Balfour Beatty: Euan Wilkinson, Robert Gibson, Joe Whelan, Marcel Zdunski
• CITC - Sociology: Freya Nolan & Emilie O’Donnell
• TMBC - Local Government: Phoebe Needham, Guy Barnwell, Stella Walls, Shalom Mazazda, Jake Cowdell Harrison, Jake Mitchinson-Aldred, Thomas Stackhouse, Joe Bentley, Rahima Quarashi

The award goes to:

Balfour Beatty "The group were amazing, detailed and went above and beyond. This team showed some great skills."

Leadership

Students who used their initiative to potentially support a team or efficiently undertook independent learning. Leadership is a key skill to have as you encourage others around you to achieve a common goal.

The nominees for Leadership are:

• Kay Leigh Roberts
• Luke Morris
• Phoebe Needham

The award goes to:

Luke Morris "Luke was amazing at presenting the project, he took on a leadership role within the group and was thoroughly engaging throughout. I think Luke will have a fantastic future ahead of him whatever career route he chooses!"

Sustainability 

When working on a project, students can embrace sustainability by considering how their choices impact the environment and society, aiming to create solutions that are not only effective but also responsible and lasting.

The nominees of Sustainability are:

• Lois Davies
• Rahima Quarashi
• Shameel Qadir Awan

The award goes to:

Shameel Qadir Awan "Shameel came up with a great business/fundraising idea which was entirely sustainable. As a charity, sustainability means a lot to us and it was incredible to see this incorporated without us mentioning it. It was also great for him to use a business model which he already has in place, to keep costs and planning time down." 

Motivation

The nominees in this category are students who approached the week exploring something out of their comfort zone and although maybe not directly related to their career interests, tried something new and developed transferable skills to aid their next steps.

The nominees for Motivation are:

• Aoife Barker
• Ella Moss
• Felix Hazell
• Kennedy Shearman
• Kyle Kabeya
• Phoebe Parslow
• Shalom Mazazda
• Wasi Rizvi

The award goes to:

Aoife Barker "Aoife detailed her previous education attainment and future aspirations. An extremely bright, articulate and headstrong young woman who has clearly set her sights on bigger things. She is determined and will go far with her steadfast approach to achieving her goals."

Kyle Kabeya "Kyle has demonstrated a keen interest and motivation to learn during his time this week.   It has been a pleasure for Kyle to spend time with the team (Stamford Unit). He has fitted in well within the Therapy Team and I wish Kyle all the best in his studies and career pathway."

Creative

Be Ambitious encouraged students to express their creativity in a variety of ways. By working with experts in their field, students had the opportunity to build on their knowledge and expertise and think outside of the box.

The nominees for Creative are:

• Jasmine Williams
• Zack Millwood
• Zuzanna Dubeil
• Naomi Williams
• Alice Knight
• Anna Holmes
• Guy Barnwell
• Kate-angeline Dawi
• Christian Whitaker
• Luke Morris
• Sophie Drinkwater
• Jessica McCabe
• Leo Chen
• Dafina Peci

The award goes to:

Maisie Slater "After brain-storming Maisie picked the brand name Synchrony which suited the newly created mattress. In the presentation she showed the research she had done into the name and why she had picked this one - I have to say, I liked some of the other names she considered - “Snooze Cruise”.  The logo is brilliant - it links so nicely with the mattress colour in terms of design and colour.  The leaflet and the pictures on the accompanying leaflet were great and showed she had excellent IT skills - she showed the mattress beautifully (where I would have had to send a mattress away for photography). Maisie also worked hard to bring the team together."

Jasmine Williams "Alongside Millie, Jasmine's research and final presentation was incredibly strong. Her ideas were really creative and showed a lot of thought about how she could reach the target audience. We could nominate her in the presentation / research as well as we were extremely impressed with her entire presentation and feel they could go far in the advertising industry should they wish to pursue a career."

Design

Design showcases students abilities many different ways, from visual communication, and creativity to coding and problem solving. Design skills were developed across many briefs during Be Ambitious Week.

The nominees for Design are: 

• Dafina Peci
• Iras Mehdi
• Isabelle Trenbath
• Jaykeira Baugh
• Jessica McCabe
• Kate-angeline Dawi
• Kyas Berry Nevins
• Leena Qaiser
• Leo Chen
• Meredith Chadwick
• Millie Evans
• Molly Elly
• Riley Bligh
• Thomas Stackhouse

The award goes to:

Riley Bligh "He designed the most fabulous mattress cover with dandelion heads and seeds in a purple colour.  The design had the “wow” factor which would draw consumers to look at this mattress.  He teamed the top cover with a plain purple border which just looked amazing."

Project Management

Project management requires lots of the skills nominated for awards including leadership, design and motivation. Additional responsibilities also can fall on a project manager as they need to prioritise their workload, make decisions and plan/organise to deadlines.

The nominees for Project Management are: 

• Ching Chan
• Joe Bentley
• Victory Isherhienrhien
• Tyler Williams

The award goes to:

Tyler Williams "Tyler was nominated by link teachers for his outstanding organisation of the project - carefully designated roles to the rest of his group."

Outstanding Presentation (Individual)

This award is for an outstanding presentation that stood out during the week.

The nominees for Outstanding Presentation are:

• Keira Wade
• Lewis White
• Maisie Knott
• Mia Hayes
• Millie Evans
• Scarlett Cornwall

The award goes to:

Maisie Knott "Really thorough analysis of the BBC news Instagram account that displayed an excellent understanding of the account’s strengths and weaknesses. Maisie recognised what distinguishes the BBC news Instagram account from other BBC news channels and the ways in which it tries to appeal to users through easily digestible short text quotes and photos. Her description of why links to more in-depth online articles are important to both news publishers, such as the BBC, and audiences was particularly strong, as was her suggestion of choosing a greater variety of stories to avoid repetition. Really well written and well thought through review. Excellent work.

Maisie’s video review of a recent news story that had impacted on her (the general election announcement) was equally impressive. I really liked how she talked about why the news story resonated with her on a personal level and her analysis of how the news was covered by a range of different media platforms showed a very good understanding of why the story attracted such a high level of interest for audiences of all ages. Her passion for politics and strong knowledge of the subject shone through in the video and she presented it very well, appearing completely comfortable, confident and at ease on camera. The use of music at the end ("Things Can Only Get Better") was brilliant, especially as she had referenced the song and its relevance to the story earlier in the video. Fantastic effort. Well done."

Outstanding Achievement

This award is for an outstanding achievement – this is a student who stood out to an employer for their hard work during the week either contributing as part of a team or on a solo project.

The nominees for Outstanding Achievement are:

• Elijah Walker
• Ella Moss 
• George Greave
• Reece Dale
• Stella Walls
• Thomas Johnson
• William Hardwick

The award goes to:

Ella Moss "Ella's unwavering commitment and exceptional work ethic towards British Sign Language (BSL) make her a truly deserving candidate. Ella has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to promoting and enhancing the understanding of BSL within our community. Her passion for BSL is evident in her daily efforts to bridge communication gaps and advocate for the deaf community. She continually goes above and beyond.

One of Ella's remarkable achievements is her initiative to create interactive BSL songs, which have been instrumental in increasing awareness and proficiency among communities. Her ability to inspire others to learn and appreciate BSL is unparalleled. She motivates her peers and students with her infectious enthusiasm, ensuring that everyone feels valued and empowered to communicate effectively."

William Hardwick "I understand not everyone in college was successful in getting a placement, where William was. He worked exceptionally hard all week, asked relevant questions, was able to provide insightful comments during team discussions and pointed out issues that other people had not noticed, which led directly to improvements being made in our chatbot technology. All in all William fitted right in from day one and became a valuable member of the team delivering real value."

Reece Dale "Reece was unsure if he would feel confident enough to present. He went on to present his amazing designs to the employer which was amazing."

A huge well done to all nominees and award winners! As a college, we are extremely proud of the way our students presented themselves during Be Ambitious week - they represented the college phenomenally!