Further Education colleges from across the UK gathered at the Grosvenor Hotel on 23rd March 2019. The event celebrated FE winners and Beacon awards
Helena Kennedy Foundation was the chosen charity of the night, a total of £4,414.02 was raised with another just under £2k in pledges. The funds raised will go towards providing financial support and mentoring to disadvantaged FE learners.
Stephen Exley, TES Fe Editor said “In November 1998, Tes reported on the launch of the Helena Kennedy Foundation at the Association of Colleges’ Annual Conference. I’m pleased that, two decades on, we were able to raise funds to support its vital ongoing work”
On the night Dr Mohamed Abdi shared his story of when he arrived from Somalia in the UK he was unable to speak English. He went on to study at Coulsdon College and proceeded to study Medicine at St Georges University. Mohammed now works as GP in Croydon.
The charity has supported over 1500 bursaries to help student progress to Higher Education. President of the charity in its 21st year Baroness Kennedy said ”Overcoming the stigma of thinking that ‘education isn’t for me’ is what further education does best”.
