Before the end of the 2022-23 academic year, A1 students from Ashton Sixth Form College participated in the Be Ambitious Employability programme. This specialist programme is designed to support students with gaining meaningful work experience by self-placing or participating in an employer-led project at college.

The week, sponsored by Stamford Products Ltd, saw over 700 students take part in the programme and gain real experiences of the working world. Ashton Sixth Form College partnered with major employers and industries in Greater Manchester and beyond to deliver these employer-led projects, workshops and work placements.

All students worked extremely hard and professional throughout the week 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 this week. 

Over 50 students received nominations by employers and members of staff that supported Be Ambitious week for various reasons, such as how they approached the week, their attitude, for going above and beyond and working as a team.

The categories and winners were:

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:

• Locala – Group 2: Robert Hill, Limo Hama-Salih, Ismaeel Zohaib Azam, Faiza Hussain
• Digital Flamingo: Holly Rotchell, Karina Mardania, Grace Palmer

The award for Teamwork goes to:

Locala – Group 2: Robert Hill, Limo Hama-Salih, Ismaeel Zohaib Azam, Faiza Hussain - "Excellent presentation with use of Locala colours (purple/green) and animations, well put together with a clear focus on reducing the stigma of under 18’s discussing sexual health. Excellent ideas regarding sexual health education for parents to encourage open discussions with their children, regular visits from sexual health specialists into school as the one off visits make them feel forgotten about and that it’s not an important subject, posters advertising services within schools and surrounding areas. Also good suggestion of web links to Locala social media platforms on Locala website as well as including images of under 18’s on the web pages to ensure under 18’s feel inclusive within the service. The team presented well together and clearly felt passionate about their ideas, well done!"

Teaching

This group went above and beyond before Be Ambitious Week, to ensure their project was a success for both their company and the externals they were working with. Alongside their studies, this group prepared marketing materials, liaised with externals and formed a company to support students in the local area. 

The award for Teaching goes to:

The Inspire Dance Academy - Sienna Smith, Chloe Knowles-Johnstone, Amelia Dufton, Tamzin Hulme, Amelia Blow, Freya White - "The Inspire Academy demonstrated a number of valuable skills during Be Ambitious Week including: creativity, project management and teamwork. They fully supported each other and worked together as a company to get the workshops up and successfully running, doing all that was asked with professionalism and independence. The group taught at a range of schools, covering a range of ages and have been praised for their work/high level of teaching and activities."

Outstanding presentation 

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:

• Locala – Group 1: Rutendo Adomako, Hafsa Wazir, Olatoye Alabi, Leah Craig
• Capgemini: Michael Simm, Christian Manuel, Mia Barcley, Amelia Byers, Ayesha Malik, Jack Douse, Abigail Cryer, Lois Cooper

The award for Outstanding Presentation goes to:

Capgemini: Michael Simm, Christian Manuel, Mia Barcley, Amelia Byers, Ayesha Malik, Jack Douse, Abigail Cryer, Lois Cooper - Given how impressed we were when we came away from the final presentation last week, we would love to nominate the team for the Outstanding Presentation award. We were very impressed with how all members of the group stood up and confidently delivered an engaging presentation where they each “owned” a different section. It was a real team effort, and they had clearly put a lot of effort into not only the content (which was very comprehensive!), but also the delivery of it, too.

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:

• Eden Ball
• Olatoye Alabi
• Ella Murray
• Amelia Blow
• Sienna Smith
• Chloe Knowles-Johnstone
• Sophie Thackeray

The award for leadership goes to:

Olatoye Alabi - Toye presented the presentation on behalf of the other group members but also ensured they felt included all the way through. At the end of the presentation Toye also ensured to point out that the project/presentation was a group effort and each individual had contributed equally. This really is the sign of a true leader so well done Toye.

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:

• Jessica Akubuo
• Thomas Keogh
• Austin Camacho Duran

The award for Motivation goes to:

Tom Keogh - "Tom approached the project from a mental health angle; he was very nervous so his presentation and pitch were an even bigger challenge for him to overcome. Well done for pushing yourself out of your comfort zone."

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:

• Ella Murray
• Sophie Thackeray
• Luke Saycell
• Daisy Ryan
• Lucy Cordingley

The award for Creative goes to:

• Lucy Cordingley - "Lucy showed a great deal of enthusiasm throughout Be Ambitious Week and after. She conducted thorough research, produced a creative project and presented her ideas confidently. Lucy used her initiative and impressed staff/her Industry Mentor when delivering her final project. Well done!"
• Daisy Ryan - "Daisy came at the project from a different angle which showed initiative - the work was lovely, and spot on for the target market. Well done!"

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:

• Tiah Glasgow
• Faith Moore
• Sam Booth

The award for Design goes to:

Sam Booth - "Sam worked well during Be Ambitious Week and went above and beyond to create detailed resources to present to the Industry Mentors. He collaborated well with the team and his partner; despite his partner not being in on the final day Sam presented their work to the team confidently and explained ideas/choices thoroughly."

Research

Researching is a valuable skill beneficial to all career sectors. Research enables new information to be analysed and implemented. Especially for the project briefs, research was key to help find evidence to back up findings being presented to the employer.

The nominees for Research are:

• Arjun Mistry
• Isaac Rahman
• Rosie McCormick
• Ella Murray
• Sophie Thackery

The award for Research goes to:

• Arjun Mistry - "His presentation was clear and concise, and he had really researched brands and their suitability to a commercial gym, and he had considered the budget he was working towards. He explained precisely why he chose the brand and the types of equipment he went for and he answered questions from Mark and myself calmly and accurately. He had been on the internet to research his choices and looked at reviews carefully.  He explained that his choice of equipment was that they could be used for a lot of core exercises and had multiple uses in some cases.  Overall it was a well planned and well delivered presentation."
• Ella Murray - "Ella worked well as part of a team, especially as she was involved in the development and delivery of the project – well done! What impressed us - Ella's journaling information, excellent transport scoping and outstanding attention to detail."

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:

• Eden Ball
• Sienna Smith
• Amelia Blow
• Amelia Dufton
• Chloe Knowles-Johnstone
• Tamzin Hulme
• Freya White
• Sapphire Treanor
• Sophie Healey

The award for Project Management goes to:

Sapphire Treano and Sophie Healey - "Sapphire and Sophie took the initiative to support their teams and utilised their design experience. They both led the group to create an effective design and presented ideas back confidently. Industry Mentors were very impressed with designs and plan on creating these for students. Well done!"

Outstanding Presentation

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

The award for Outstanding Presentation goes to:

Tiah Glasgow - "Tiah was so dedicated to this project, Neil (from C21 Creative Communications) agreed and stated that she was a natural for the industry. Her pitch was so professional (in terms of its layout and her pitch to the C21 designers) and deserving of the award."

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 award for Outstanding Presentation goes to:

Rosie McCormick - "Rosie's work demonstrated how she had the best understanding of the brief, did accurate and relevant research and spoke about her ideas with confidence and professionalism. We were very impressed with her. Rosie thoroughly deserves this award."

Vocational Awards

Health & Social

Mary Addisu Aseffa - "Mary is an enthusiastic and proactive student; she throws herself into each placement and makes the most of the experiences college find for her. The college received some amazing feedback regarding her work placement at Brookdale View stating Mary was fully engaged with the residents and the feedback from the Activities Lead was very positive. Well done!"

Education & Early Years

Chanelle Figgins - "Chanelle has excellent attendance at placement. She has contributed positively to working with the Early Years Team, contributing to the learning and development of herself and the children. Chanelle has applied the theory knowledge into planning some excellent activities and interventions, communicating professionally with the class teachers. She has received excellent feedback from the staff at all the placements she has attended."

Sports Coaching

Evie Hurst - "Evie demonstrated resilience during her first placement in a primary school. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the placement unfortunately couldn’t continue so Evie was unable able to complete her hours. Once finding a new placement, her effort was phenomenal; Evie produced some of the best coaching plans the department has ever seen."

Business

Olivia Hark - "Olivia is a confident and determined student who has worked well in Business. Not only has Olivia achieved the maximum distinction grade for her coursework in Year 1 and was in the top 20% of cohort for the Marketing exam, she’s also completed a placement at Network Rail during the Be Ambitious Week which she organised herself. This involved working on the 2nd/3rd floor where she had the opportunity to complete various tasks throughout the week in a range of departments from finance to HR. During the placement, Olivia shown initiative to be making professional contacts with individuals during the week which involved conversations regarding a possible future degree apprenticeship with Network Rail."

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!