Young Inventor Honours Uxbridge College Students
Students from Uxbridge College were honoured for their achievements with awards presented by young inventor Ruth Amos
.
At the age of 15 Ruth came up with an alternative to the famous stairlift for elderly and disabled people, with her cost-effective ‘StairSteady’. She set up a highly successful company producing and installing it and has gone on to set up a number of other businesses too.
Students collecting awards on the night included overall winner Aneta Walczak, who received the Super Star prize, sponsored by Lloyds Bank, Commercial.
Aneta (19), joined Uxbridge College to study Health and Social Care three years ago and had to learn English alongside doing her course, as it was not her first language. Despite some considerable personal trials, she has stuck at her studies, completing a Level 3 qualification – equivalent to A levels – and winning a place at St Mary’s University to study Psychology.
Achievers of all ages celebrated with friends, family and staff at the Annual Awards held on 18 September, at The Beck Theatre in Grange Road, Hayes. The winners were chosen from among our 10,000 full-time and part-time students.
Special guest Ruth talked about her career and presented the awards, as well as meeting students afterwards. Ruth (24), designed and developed StairSteady as part of a GCSE design and technology project. She attached a sliding metal bar to a stair rail which users could hold on to as they went up and down the stairs. After establishing a business to make the product, she went on to set up several other companies and has won numerous business and engineering awards.
Principal of Uxbridge College, Laraine Smith OBE, said: “While every one of Uxbridge College’s 10,000 students has something to be proud of, our Annual Awards honour some of those we feel have shone the brightest. I would like to congratulate all our winners, for their success in their studies and for their tenacity in making this possible when they may have faced difficulties or obstacles. I have no doubt that all our award winners look forward to a bright future having made such excellent use of their opportunities at college.”
Star and Special Award winners were:
THE ACADEMY
Star Award (Sponsored by Right Angle Events Ltd):
Amani Naima
The Gavin Taylor Bursary Award:
Winner – Amrit Pal Kaur
Joint Highly Commended – Ryan Dell
Joint Highly Commended - Zalma Salam
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Star Award (Sponsored by Chartwells):
Dean Trevallion-Coole
Higher Education Award (Sponsored by the University of Hertfordshire):
Amritpal Singh Hayre
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Star Award:
Krist Sanchez
Higher Education Award (Sponsored by The University of West London):
Ehsan Farooq Shah
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE STUDIES
Star Award:
Nadeyne Lewis
Ian Hebditch Award:
Steven O’Neil
SCHOOL OF EARLY YEARS, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Super Star Award (Sponsored by Lloyds Bank, Commercial) and Star Award (Sponsored by Buckinghamshire New University):
Aneta Walczak
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Mechanical & Electronics)
Star Award:
Mathews Okeyo
Higher Education Award (Sponsored by Brunel University):
Tin Bo Bo
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (Technology & Innovation)
Star Award:
Christopher McSorley
SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND FOUNDATION STUDIES
Star Award:
Ailda Kaca
SCHOOL OF HAIR, BEAUTY AND HOSPITALITY
Star Award (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd):
Rebecca Castree
Comfort Simoyan Award (Sponsored by Dennis Williams Ltd):
Shelby Beard
SCHOOL OF SPORT, TRAVEL AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Star Award:
Elena Valentina Mihai
David Keating Memorial Award:
Benn Leo
Travel & Tourism Higher Education Award:
Ilham Said Gatibaru
TEACHER EDUCATION & CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Star Award:
Joshua Barton
EMPLOYERS AND APPRENTICES
Intermediate Apprentice Award (Sponsored by the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce):
Katie Scarfe
Advanced Apprentice Award (Sponsored by the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce):
Mica Day
Apprentice Employer Award:
Yalden DIY & Garden
Work Experience Employer Award:
Greenwich Community Development Agency at The Old Vinyl Factory