College shortlisted for 'Most Inspirational' Educate Award

Birkenhead Sixth Form College has been shortlisted for being the most inspirational place to study for 16 to 18-year-olds by one of the North West’s most prestigious awards organisations.

The Educate Awards was founded in 2010 to recognise excellence in the schools of Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire, and the 2017 nominations list sees the College in a shortlist of four institutions in the running for the ‘Most Inspirational 16-18 Education Provider’ prize.

Select judges from a range of backgrounds have been whittling down the hundreds of schools and colleges competing in the 21 different award categories. This year, Radio City host, Leanne Campbell, joined other judges including the regional managing director of Trinity Mirror, the Chief Executive of Knowsley Chamber and other education specialists and champions of industry to decide on the shortlists.

A glittering ceremony will be held at the awe-inspiring Liverpool Cathedral on Friday 17^th November to announce the winners, with an array of nearly 20 highly-respected businesses and organisations sponsoring the event.

Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards and executive editor of Educate Magazine, said: "2017 has seen an unprecedented number of entries and the quality across all categories has certainly impressed our judges, making it a very tough decision-making process. Judges this year commented that the standard of entries was so high, that in some categories, you could have made a very good case for shortlisting just about every applicant. Therefore it is already an outstanding achievement to have made the shortlist!"

Principal at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Mike Kilbride, said: “To make the shortlist for such an award is in itself a major honour and testament to the hard work that goes on in this College by both students and staff each and every day.

“The award is for being an ‘inspirational’ place for students to study so it’s fantastic to be recognised as such – it’s what we have always aimed for in everything we do. We truly believe that every student who comes to us has the potential to succeed and that doesn’t just mean academically, but developing as a well-rounded individual that has much to offer in any walk of life that they choose to enter after their studies with us.”

The Educate Award nomination comes near the end of a year full of accolades for Birkenhead Sixth Form College.

2017 started with Ofsted rating the College as Outstanding in all areas in January, followed by making the shortlist of the national TES ‘Sixth Form College of the Year 2017’ Award in February.

The Wirral Globe and Liverpool Echo awarded the College prizes of ‘Class of the Year’ and the ‘Health Living Award’ respectively at their annual schools celebrations, while the Sixth Form College Association bestowed on the College the honour of their Curriculum Innovation Award.