Winners announced at Buckinghamshire Adult Learner of the Year Awards 2017

Steve Rogers and Katie Brown were jointly crowned as ‘Adult Learner of the Year’ at the Buckinghamshire Adult Learning awards ceremony on Tuesday night (June 20).

Over 120 people attended the annual ceremony which was held by Buckinghamshire Adult Learning at the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, as part of the Festival of Learning.

Steve and Katie are both English and Maths Functional Skills learners.

Steve’s English tutor, Karen Richardson, who nominated him for the award, said: “Steve has been a credit to the class since the beginning. He had a challenging time at school and his learning needs appear to have been ignored and he was written off as a difficult child. He is now trying to make up for lost time and gain Functional Skills qualifications before he is fifty. Then he wishes to progress onto GCSEs. Steve is a joy to have in the class and is able to lighten atmosphere and be friendly and respectful to everyone. He is always willing to help others and make them feel at ease.”

Steve said of his learning journey, “I don’t think I would have been able to do this without the great help and support that I have had from my teachers. My goal is to get to Level 2 in both subjects, which will be my GCSEs.”

Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, presented the awards to the winners and said, “Your individual learner stories are truly inspiring, andyou should all be proud of your achievements today. Your commitment and dedication to continue learning and to do well are amazing examples to us all and demonstrate what can be achieved.

“We recognise the courage and determination this has in many cases required – that’s why we’ve invited you here today, to congratulate you for achieving so much in your courses with Adult Learning.”