Barrow Sixth Form students shared prizes worth over £10,000 as they were rewarded for their determination and commitment.
They attended a ceremony this week – the first face-to-face event for the prize fund in three years due to COVID-19 – and 35 students were recognised for academic and personal achievement during their time at the Rating Lane campus.
The fund was set up to celebrate the very best in education and support students with cash prizes as they go on to university, higher apprenticeships and employment.
Director of curriculum, Helen Gibson said: “The students who achieved outstanding qualifications in the summer of 2022 showed exceptional resilience as they had never sat formal examinations before, so to do this for the first time in the levels of qualifications we offer is absolutely brilliant.”
“I know how hard some of these students have worked, some of them in the face of extreme adversity and I would like to congratulate every single one of them and of course our staff who have supported them relentlessly in pursuit of excellence and to enable our students to follow their dreams.”
Awards were given as monetary prizes ranging from £100 to £1,000 for the top student. Many have progressed on to study at university or start higher apprenticeships.
Principal and chair’s Student of the Year was Toby Wilson who joined the college from St Bernard’s Catholic High School and is now at the University of Cambridge studying a degree in medicine after achieving the maximum 4 A* grades in biology, chemistry, maths and physics.
He said: “I feel overwhelmed to receive this award today, I’d like to thank everyone at Barrow Sixth Form for their support. My advice to future students would be to work hard and do what you love, you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.”
While at college Toby set up the Furness Future Medics Forum to overcome the boundaries of work experience in a pandemic and help him and other students to get a head start in their career in medicine.
Former Dowdales student Adam Boyd won a Head of Sixth Form award for his academic achievements with A*s in business and accounting and an A in maths. He is now studying business, management and finance at Durham University.
He said: “I feel happy to have received this award today, the prize will be invested in my savings. The best part of my sixth form journey was the relationships I had with my tutors/lecturers and the support I received from them. The celebration today has been great to mark the end of my sixth form journey.”
Other Head of Sixth Form prizes for students who were the top academic performers went to Daniel Jewell, Phoebe Postlethwaite, Benjamin Patel, Lydia Hetherington, Jamie Kelly, Alisha Windle and Glenn Toal.
Principal and chief executive of Furness College, Andrew Wren, said: “The awards recognise the students’ achievements, skill, commitment and dedication across the breadth of their studies across the college.
“I have never failed to be impressed by the maturity the students bring and I am genuinely proud of you all.”
Winners
Principal and Chair’s Student of the Year
Toby Wilson (Earnest Priest Foundation)
Head of Sixth Form awards
- Alisha Windle (McCullough Scholarship)
- Daniel Jewell
- Phoebe Postlethwaite (Murial Auld Fund)
- Adam Boyd
- Lydia Hetherington (McCullough Exhibition)
- Jamie Kelly
- Glenn Toal
- Benjamin Patel (Robert Pickin Memorial Fund)
Curriculum Leader Awards
- Mia Griffiths
- Olivia Pollock
- Erin Pennington
- Holly Bertram
- Callum Birnie
- Maisie Martin
- Kate Irving
- Lorna Carroll
Personal Progress Coach awards
- Annabelle Cotton-Hill (Whinnerah Memorial)
- Will Buckley
- Lara Gaskell
- Spencer McGladdery
Personal Progress Coach attendance awards
- Marc Sneesby
- Amelia Martin
- Tobias Allen
- Georgia Broadfoot
- Kacie Jackson
Michael Phipps Memorial Prize
Evie McMullen
Martin Longstaffe Memorial Prize
Ewan Macmillan
Philip Geddes Memorial Prize
Tamzin Trelore
Sharon Lamb Memorial Prize
Bailey Harding
David Cole Memorial Prize
Yasmin Hipkiss
Dan Logan Memorial Prize
Eddie Goodson
William Rollinson Memorial Prize
Will Blackett
Derrick Gould Memorial Prize
Abbie Prickett
Elizabeth Mauchline Roberts Prize
Heath Allanson
