GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

focusing on the programmes that we are doing at the moment in Oxford, the

Access programme, if I can go back to that, is a flagship course for us. We

offer several strands to it.

This is a slide that most successful sixth forms in the country would be happy to

present. These are just some of the places that our 38 Access students this

year have got offers from and are going on to study at. Many of them will stay

with us, that is right for them, but it is not right for all of them and these adults

that are coming to us, with many of them not being in education for more than

half their lives, with no qualifications sometimes, are doing a one year

programme and reaching these destinations. I want to just talk to you about

two of these students. I could talk to you about any of them, but only two for

today. This is Alex. Alex came to us in September last year. Before he came

to us he had had some difficulties. He did not have formal qualifications, he

had had a long spell of unemployment, some homelessness, some issues with

substance abuse. His stepfather drove him to our college from Manchester,

what can we do with Alex?” Alex is now President of our Student Union.

Whilst he has been at Ruskin he has become very involved in the union

movement and trade unionism. He is very keen to carry on with that. I do not

think this will be the last time you hear of him. He has lived with us for a year.

He has been the recipient of one of our very generous bursary schemes. He

has had one to one support to help him with the issues that he does have. He

is now predicted distinctions and has had offers from Manchester, from

Brighton and from Warwick. He is off to Warwick to study sustainability and

sociology. That is a quite phenomenal story and every one of our 38 have

stories like that to tell.

Again, Bahareh, a Syrian refugee. She did a few short courses with us and

has also been resident. Access to Nursing. Two university offers for nursing

and the offer of a nursing apprenticeship. So these are the things that Ruskin

are doing that are so important and actually because of our special status as

our resident college, because of our generous bursary scheme, we are able to

really support these people and that is what we are continuing to do.

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