Yearbook creators among our Jack Petchey winners

 Kadiesat and Harriet

 

We’ve had many recipients of Jack Petchey Foundation awards this term, too many for a single news article, but here are a few of the very deserving winners, with more to come…

 

Kadiesat and Harriet are two of our upper sixth students who have taken on the mammoth task of creating a yearbook for the upper sixth students.

 

They were nominated by their tutors, Jo large and Hannah Johnston, who said… “Despite having their own workload preparing for assessments they have done an amazing job leading the committee. With such a huge number of students and staff they have had their work cut out organising the whole thing from start to finish. We are incredibly proud that they have done this for their peers as it will be a wonderful record of their time here for many years to come. They’ve shown huge commitment and determination in getting the yearbook done to such a high standard, within the time frame given, and we think they’ve done a brilliant job. We want to say a massive thank you from all the 6U students and staff.”

 

We caught up with Kadiesat and Harriet this week…

 

 

Harriet: “Due to our sixth form experience being extraordinary to say the least, Kadiesat and I wanted to create a memento of the past two years that students could take with them once they left Woodhouse. Then in the future they could look back at this roller-coaster experience we’ve all lived through, and in our case did our A levels through!

 

We were so passionate about the book, that we spent day and night, for hours on facetime sometimes, putting together this book for everyone. We also had the added stress of chasing up students, staff, gaining consent and on top of that our revision for our exams. It has been a lot to say the least! It has shown me that I can multitask, prioritise what is important and not crack under pressure (I hope). I'm also extremely proud of Kadiesat for dealing with my chaotic ideas and stress.”

 

Kadiesat: “It felt important to commemorate our time at Woodhouse in some fashion as even though we had a very interrupted two years, we still made memories. Creating the yearbook while trying our best in our assessments made the task slightly harder, especially attempting to make contact and encourage students to take part. It really tested my leadership skills as well as my time management. However, working alongside Harriet and the amazingly dedicated members of the yearbook committee made every moment worth it.”

 

 

Harriet: “It is an honour. I was aware of how impressive and difficult a Jack Petchey award was to receive, so to even be nominated is an achievement in itself.”

 

Kadiesat: “It feels good to be recognised for our contributions here at Woodhouse because sometimes it feels like hard work can go unnoticed.”

 

Harriet: “The money is already going towards the yearbook to support students with payment. One of our main priorities was to make sure everyone who wanted a copy, received one.”

 

 

Kadiesat: “In September, I'm hoping to study Law and Sociology at Warwick University. I have deeply enjoyed my time at Woodhouse, met amazing people and been taught by incredible teachers. Despite all the challenges and disruption faced this year, the college spirit remained strong in the students and staff making it an enjoyable place to be a part of.”

 

Harriet: “I hope to have a memorable, relaxing summer and then go to Warwick to study Law with Business (fingers crossed). The past two years have been tough, accommodating to multiple lockdowns whilst being an essential food retail worker throughout the pandemic, and navigating my studies at the same time. But I love Woodhouse. I have met amazing people, friends, and teachers in the college who I will never forget. I involved myself in as much as I could, including being a Student Council member. The support I have received, within my studies and non-education related, has been amazing, allowing me to develop into a mature young adult. I've always said that Woodhouse is just a smaller version of university, so I think it has equipped me well in readiness for October.”

 

We congratulate both Kadiesat and Harriet and wish them the best of luck in their assessments and onward journey.

 

And for those upper sixth who have yet to order their yearbook, check the links in your emails and buy one!

 

 

 

 

 Full-time tutor and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion co-ordinator, Farida Ahmed

 

We are also very pleased to announce that staff member Farida Ahmed has been given a Jack Petchey Foundation Leader award.

 

Farida is one of our full-time tutors and looks after the pastoral needs of five tutor groups as well as delivering tutorial sessions covering personal, health, social and economic education. She was appointed to work as our college EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) co-ordinator a couple of years ago but has really got this work off the ground this year, starting an EDI college student and staff committee, a weekly "Worldwide Woodhouse" newsletter and a monthly EDI newsletter. She has also worked closely with the college African-Caribbean-Society (ACS) in response to the BLM movement to produce a college booklet on how to be anti-racist and an ally of the black community.

 

Her colleagues in student services who nominated her said…

 

“She really involves her tutees in her sessions and knows how to get them involved in discussing what are often very complex and difficult issues and situations. The one-to-one help and support she provided to her tutees during lockdown was incredible. She was always at the end of a phone when students had an issue, problem or needed guidance. Her work has been instrumental in continuing to make Woodhouse the welcoming, diverse, open, supportive and kind community that it is. As an ex-Woodhouse student returning to work here, she is even more appreciated by our college community.”

 

Farida told us...

 

“It is an absolute honour to have been awarded with a Jack Petchey Leader award, and the letter arrived on my birthday no less! Through my role as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator I’ve been committed to championing the amazing mix of identities that we have at Woodhouse, so it was incredibly touching to be recognised for this. This year has been difficult and unprecedented in so many ways, but the engagement with celebrating key dates and exploring different cultures and religions virtually has been remarkable. I will be using the £1000 project grant for an EDI related project and will get students involved in voting for what they would like.”

 

 

Congratulations again to Kadiesat, Harriet and Farida. We will be featuring more of our 2021 winners after half term.