Coventry College’s ESOL team recognised at the House of Lords

A group of tutors and students from Coventry College have been recognised at the House of Lords for their contribution to the community.

Team members from the College’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course recently won Highly Commended in the Volunteering Team of the Year at the Good for ME Good for FE Awards.

Good for ME Good for FE is a national campaign where colleges across the country unite to encourage staff and students to volunteer and fundraise in their communities.

Coventry College ESOL tutor, Fatima Reszczynski, led a group from the College’s ESOL course down to London to collect their award from Baroness Morgan of Cotes in the House of Lords.

The award comes after Fatima supported around 18 of Coventry College’s ESOL students to litter pick in Coventry’s War Memorial Park, where they collected 10 bags of rubbish in one session – which also saw the team raise more than £200 for The British Inspiration Trust (BRIT) in support of the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 16 to 25 in the process.

Collections were also made for Coventry Food Bank, which saw more than 200 items donated to those in need.

Fatima has been an ESOL Lecturer at Coventry College for a decade, and for the past eight years has supported up to 120 students every year with volunteering and fundraising opportunities.

She said: “Colleges such as the one in Coventry are at the heart of their communities and have a key part to play in providing support, both academically and to those in need, so it was really pleasing for the team to be recognised in this way.

“All of the students who I teach are required to contribute around 20 hours of work experience alongside their English studies, which isn’t easy when you’re trying to learn a new language, so our role as tutors has been about helping our students to break down barriers not just with the language, but to employment too.

“The visit to the House of Lords was a brilliant occasion – you could feel the history in the walls – and hopefully it has inspired some of our students to aim high in their future careers.”

A college group is celebrating a major milestone after completing its 200th project for The Prince’s Trust in Warwickshire.

WCG (Warwickshire College Group) is the largest provider of programmes for The Prince’s Trust in England and delivers the Team programme in Leamington Spa, Rugby and Nuneaton.

It has been delivering the Team programmes for more than 15 years and a ceremony was held at Warwick Trident College to recognise the completion of its 200th group.

Chris Gately and Casey Frampton, who lead The Prince’s Trust programme for WCG in Warwickshire, were presented with a special award to commemorate the double century milestone.

Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Tim Cox, and Rachel Edwards, Head of Delivery

Partnerships and Volunteering at The Prince’s Trust, presented WCG with the award.

Tim, who is the King’s representative in the county, said: “This is a great achievement from WCG, and offering our local young people the chance to reach their potential through the Prince’s Trust has been a huge success.

“WCG has fully embraced the support of The Prince’s Trust, and to be the biggest deliverers of Team in the UK is fantastic.”

Rachel Edwards, Head of Delivery Partnerships & Volunteering at The Prince’s Trust, added: “Congratulations to Warwickshire College Group. It is a huge milestone to reach the 200th Prince’s Trust Team programme.

“Young people are currently facing multiple challenges, however the Team programme offers them the opportunity to

Through the programme, WCG has supported thousands of young people to gain the skills to gain future employment, with some of the staff now running the Team programme previously having been participants.

Team 200 young people were invited to the celebration ceremony to receive their certificates in recognition of completion of the programme.

Team is a free 12-week programme which aims to build confidence of its participants and help them to develop new practical skills.

Casey Frampton, Prince's Trust Programme Coordinator Coventry & Warwickshire for WCG, added: “Reaching this major milestone gave us time to reflect on the impact of the Team programme and the thousands of young people we have been able to support in Warwickshire.

“Not only has the programme had a transformative impact on its participants, it has also facilitated the support of hundreds of community projects across our region.

“We would like to congratulate Team 200 on completing the programme and here’s to the next 200 teams.”

Find out more about The Prince’s Trust and programmes available through WCG by visiting https://wcg.ac.uk/page/25/ princes-trust