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Further Education Awards

25th September 2025 – Tags: Access to Higher Education, ESOL, FE Awards

We were proud to celebrate the achievements of twelve exceptional students at our annual Further Education Awards, which were held in the Debut Restaurant at City College Norwich.

The award winners’ outstanding achievements stood out from the 10,000 16- to 19-year-olds and adult learners on Further Education courses at City College Norwich, Easton College and Paston College in 2024-25.

Congratulations to all of our Further Education Award winners:

  • A Level Student of the Year - Quinn Rushen 

  • Vocational Student of the Year - Jake Gould

  • Vocational Student of the Year - Betsy Looker

  • English and Maths Student of the Year - Cjay Fulcher

  • ESOL Student of the Year - Gak Gatluak

  • Excellence in Placement Student of the Year - Sam Nutt

  • Inclusive Learning and MINT Student of the Year - Owen Spinks

  • T Level and T Level Foundation Student of the Year - Toby Ives-Coleman

  • Aspiring Student of the Year - Lilly Chusonis 

  • James Barr Memorial Award for Access to Higher Education - Madii Sharpe

  • Adult Student of the Year - Tyler Cole

  • Worshipful Company of Farmers Award - Reuben Crowter

Among the award winners were City College Norwich students Maddii Sharpe and Gak Gatluak.

Maddii, who completed our Access to Higher Education Science (Health) course, was presented with the James Barr Memorial Award for Access to Higher Education.

Achieving distinction in all the graded units on her course, Maddii was described as an ‘amazing student’ whose work ‘never failed to impress’.

Moreover, she was a valued member of the group who would often help to support others. Maddii was proactive in promoting good mental health and in raising awareness and has now embarked on a degree in Mental Health Nursing.

Maddii says that the experience of doing the Access course “made me begin to love education again… it gave me a lot more confidence.”

Gak Gatluak was named as our ESOL Student of the Year. Gak joined the college with very little previous education in English.

However, thanks to his ‘excellent attitude to learning’, and consistent practice in and out of college, he passed all parts of the Entry Level 1 qualification.

Gak’s teachers say that he is someone who is always smiling and who ‘lights up the classroom’, is always respectful, and works well with the group.

He has shown considerable resilience and perseverance to improve his all-round English skills and is now looking to the future with the aim of studying computing at the college.   

Gak said he was “very excited” to receive the award, adding: “I like City College. Before I came to college I didn’t speak English, I didn’t know spelling and writing, because it’s very different.”

Jerry White, Principal of City College Norwich, Easton College and Paston College, said:

At our college we seek to recognise and celebrate success in all its forms, and this is reflected in the diversity of our award winners and their individual learning journeys.

 

We're incredibly proud of the qualification outcomes all our students achieve, and we're incredibly ambitious that they do as well as they can - but we know that grades alone are not the only measure of success. 

 

It's the journeys they've come on, the second chances they've taken, the progression on to destinations they never felt were possible. It's the ambitions we've raised, the dreams we've fulfilled. 

 

All these things are part of our mission, not simply and only to provide great career or qualification outcomes.”