Students have received recognition for their excellent academic progress and positive contribution at their club by making the shortlist for LFE’s Learner of the Term for January to April.
Here are the runners-up for the main prize, who have all been awarded a £40 Amazon voucher:
Callum Bailey (Bristol Rovers Community Trust)
Jack Richardson, Head of Enrichment and Recruitment, told LFE: “Having joined us in September, Callum has improved term by term with his work and on the pitch. Since the lockdown, Callum has worked incredibly independently, without needing any reminders on deadlines and lesson times.
“Also, Callum often lives independently as his mum works away for an airline, yet he still has no issues with attendance, punctuality or deadlines, even when his mum is away for some weeks of the term.
“Alongside this, Callum has been signed onto Future Elite Sports American scholarship programme for 2021, where they will find him a U.S. university to play and study at from September 2021. To get on this, Callum attended a trial with over 25 players, of which only eight were chosen to be signed on. This is a great achievement for Callum and shows the hard work he has put into playing this year.
“They have given him a gym plan to follow at home while the year goes on. Callum has been a crucial part of the first team this year. He is a popular figure in the side and other players have started to look up to him.”
Joshua Johnston (Carlisle United Community Trust)
Education Officer Mark Banks told LFE: “Everything that life has thrown at him, Josh has kicked out of the park. Josh had glandular fever, which put him in hospital and then had to stay at home for over a month.
“While Josh was trying to get better, he kept in contact with his tutor and was still able to complete his work from home, with tutor support. In that time, he was producing merit and distinction assignments, which is a credit to him.
“When Josh returned, he was not able to take part in practical coaching sessions or football games, due to the Doctor’s orders. Josh had lost 2 stone in weight and was still very weak but was determined to get back to his normal self.
“A week after Josh returned, he found out that a member of his family was diagnosed with early stages of cancer, which was another setback for the whole family. In that time, Josh has taken everything in his stride, remaining positive and being supportive for his family, while producing and staying on top of his assignment deadlines.
“Josh also worked with our senior staff volunteering on a Monday evening ‘Little Foxes’ football session for one hour a week. The feedback from the coaches was positive. I also went to observe, in which he presented himself in a professional and engaging manner.”
Corey-Lee McDermott (Rochdale AFC Community Trust)
Shireen Bisping, Education Officer, told LFE: “Corey has made significant progress this term, and I believe he deserves some recognition for all his hard work. Corey struggled to settled in and did not have the best academic start to the year.
“However, having initially struggled with assessments, Corey has displayed mass amounts of resilience and a determined ‘do not give up’ attitude, which is an inspiring turnaround.
“Corey has managed to improve all his grades and is now overachieving and working above his predicted grade. Corey is a delight to work with, as he is extremely respectful and well-mannered. He always communicates with me effectively, strives to achieve his best and never gives up.
“Corey does struggle with some of the work, but he works hard, harder than most to ensure he achieves excellent grades, which is the type of attitude which is going to ensure he achieves his future goals.”
Eden Hinchliffe (Sheffield United Community Foundation)
Education Tutor Jonathan Hymanforth told LFE: “Eden has performed exceptionally well over this term, constantly striving to become better with each session that she completes. She has shown a tremendous drive to improve her work and has developed a sense of personal pride over ensuring that she achieves the highest grade that she possibly can.
“Always on time and ever present in sessions, she sets the bar very high for her fellow students, always willing to give new topics a go and never shy about asking for help when required.
“Moreover, she is a leader amongst her peers and is looked up to by many, yet she uses this influence over others in a positive way and seeks to elevate them to being the best versions of themselves.
“Living in a fairly remote part of Sheffield, she has begun volunteering in our outreach programmes, not only to complete her work experience, but also to improve her coaching skill set and work towards completing additional qualifications.”
Matthew Marr (Southend United Community & Educational Trust)
The Southend Education team – Andy Edmunds, John Search, Stuart Avis and Charlie Barlow – told LFE: “Matthew has had a successful term, where he has produced work to an excellent standard.
“He has managed to complete all his assignments independently with minimum support from the tutors and even though he has had some tight deadlines, he has worked exceptionally hard under pressure and completed assignments to the best of his ability.
“He has consistently worked hard on his assignments and asks lots of questions to make sure he understands the content in order to achieve the pass. It has been very pleasing to see that Matt has achieved his first merit on his Developing Skills booklet. This has been the culmination of months of good hard work and some great development form him.
“Matt is quite a shy individual and is a pleasure to work with in class. He is knowledgeable and doesn’t complain about the tasks or assignments handed out to him. His application in class is positive and he gets his head down and works extremely hard. He has completed all assignments and his confidence and communications skills have improved over the course of the academic year.
“He is polite and reliable and has come a long way since joining the college as a Level 2 student. He is a likeable individual and has shown excellent attendance and punctuality since the start of the course.”
Read about this term’s winning candidate here.
