Educate North Awards name College as finalist

Birkenhead Sixth Form College has been named as a finalist for a North of England award which recognises commitment to ensuring that all students share the same opportunities in education, no matter their background or starting point.

The Educate North Awards have celebrated best practice and excellence in the education sector for the past five years, and the College is shortlisted for the 2019 Social Mobility Award, having won Sixth Form of the Year at the same event last year. The winner of the Social Mobility prize will be named at an awards gala at the Deansgate Hilton on 25^th April.

The news comes as the College awaits the result of the Association of Colleges Beacon Award for Social Mobility on Friday, again distinguishing Birkenhead Sixth Form College’s ethos of inclusivity and levelling the playing field for students from all walks of life.

College Principal, Mike Kilbride, said: “To be finalists for awards is always pleasing, but we particularly enjoy being recognised in a category and a field that means so much to us as an organisation.

“Our multiple awards for social mobility, both nationally and regionally, recognise our expertise in developing young people and helping them make levels of progress that perhaps even they did not think they could achieve.”

Mike continued: “Social mobility awards are a testament to our values and ethos, principally, that we expect all those who join us to excel and do not allow them to limit themselves because of a misconstrued view of themselves as being more limited than we know they are.”

“We help everyone who joins us raise their ambitions, work hard and succeed - we do not believe there are a chosen few; we know that every single student can succeed. This approach runs through everything we do and is the reason we have such national recognition as a leader in social mobility.”

The Educate North Awards ceremony is Thursday 25th April while the AoC Beacon Awards are announced this Friday, 22^nd March.