John Wheatley students and staff receive price from the Queen

John Wheatley College’s staff and students were privileged recently to receive the Queens Anniversary Trust Award for Further and Higher Education at a splendid ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh presented the award medal and certificate to Ian Graham, Principal of the College and Alex Kirk, Depute Principal.

After the ceremony, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh took time to chat with the students and staff at a lavish reception in Buckingham Palace.

Prize awarded for community regeneration in partnership

The college was awarded the prize for community regeneration for innovation through partnership.  John Wheatley College has played a significant role in the regeneration of the East of Glasgow.  In partnership with a range of other local agencies, the college has supported local residents into the labour market by arming them with the core and vocational skills which help them to access opportunities and compete for jobs.

Much of the success is due to the college’s ethos of inclusion, providing programmes of learning which are aimed at people who have few or no qualifications or have had a negative experience of education in the past.

Prizewinning students and projects

Many of the college’s students and projects have won awards, from the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Scottish Adult Learners Partnership and other bodies, for overcoming barriers and achieving their goals.

Several of the college’s past and present award-winning students were invited to the ceremony and were delighted by the genuine interest shown in them and their achievements by the royal couple.  The guests included Robert Blyth of Easterhouse (Scottish Adult Learner of the Year 2004), Lesley Ward from Bridgeton (Scottish Adult Learner of the Year 2006), Ian McLaughlan of the award-winning Trondra Local History Group, and Johnathan Moffat and Andrew Field of the current Students’ Union.

In addition, there were five members of College staff who had been selected by ‘lucky draw’ from more than a hundred hopefuls.

Chairman of the College’s Board of Management, Andy Woolley, said,

“John Wheatley College is absolutely delighted to receive The Queen’s Anniversary Trust Prize from Her Majesty – it is a real honour.  In addition, this is a huge boost for the Staff, Students and the local community. 

“The Award is a validation of the intensive work that the College has done in building and maintaining community partnerships which benefit every resident of the area and every College student.

“We feel honoured that our efforts have been recognised in this way.”

For further information, please contact:

Lesley Lang, Marketing Manager

Tel:  0141-588 1567 email:  llang@jwheatley.ac.uk