Jack Petchey Winners (January – June 2024)

The St Charles community were deeply saddened by the news that Jack sadly passed away last week. Countless St Charles 'students have benefitted  tremendously from this amazing award as proud recipients and the College publicly offer our sincere gratitude  to the Jack Petchey Foundation and our condolences to Jack's family. 

January 2024 – Daniella Labuschagne Odendaal

 Daniella is an amazing young woman who has given it her all during her time in sixth form! Her 3 years at St. Charles have seen her go from strength to strength. Her Health & Social Care teachers sing her praises, some who have known her since she first enrolled on her Level 2 course where she thrived academically and personally and progressed to Level 3, of which she is now graduating from to study her nursing degree. We are confident she will excel in her future studies and career where her calm, pragmatic and down to earth approach will serve her well!

Her teachers describe her as being an incredible student to teach and a superb addition to the St. Charles community. Ms Olanya states “she has been a brilliant student academically and personally.” Ms. Patel echoes this by saying “Daniella has been a real pleasure to teach; she is conscientious and committed and she juggles all her commitments, curricular and extra-curricular exceptionally well!” Ms Cahill supports this by stating that “Daniella is always hardworking and ambitious with her studies but also serves the wider community.” Ms Ahmadian our marketing manager cites her as exceptional in her valued role as Student Ambassador. Daniella is also a member of our Student Council and has served on other college committees including her outstanding contributions to the college’s annual Cabaret Production.  Daniella clearly embodies all the core values of both St. Charles and Jack Petchey and we thoroughly support her receiving this award.  Congratulations Daniella, you truly are an inspirational young woman with a great future ahead of you.

In fitting with her community spirit, Daniella conducted a survey of (year group/peers) students and they concluded Media and History Departments would benefit from her award money so she has split her £300.00 between both departments.

February 2024 – Emilio Shtembari

Emilio is a very deserving recipient of the Jack Petchey Award. He is now (2023-24) in his final year at St. Charles having come to us from Woodlane High School locally. Emilio’s passion is IT and having enrolled with us on a Level 2 ICT course in September 2021, he successfully progressed to L3 Diploma in ICT (equivalent to 2 A Levels) where he has excelled beyond expectations in the supportive and highly inclusive environment of St. Charles. His overall predicted outcome (August 2024) of D*D* is absolutely truly remarkable and a great tribute to Emilio’s sheer determination and commitment to his studies in the subject. Ms Ay, Head of ICT at St. Charles states “Emilio has demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill on the course. His achievements are commendable and reflect his hard work and passion for IT” and Tania Begum who has supported Emilio on his L3 journey comments “Emilio has consistently demonstrated outstanding effort in his academic endeavours, going above and beyond in his commitment to excellence. Notably, he has been a tremendous support to peers actively assisted them; his willingness to share his knowledge and expertise is commendable.”

In addition to his ICT studies, Emilio competed a L3 Certificate in Travel & Tourism qualification (equivalent to 1 A level) which he was equally committed to. Mr Morgan, Head of Travel & Tourism at St. Charles states that “Emilio is a truly outstanding student with a work ethic second to none and his performance in the subject has been outstanding. He’s the highest achiever in the group. A real star.”

Emilio has always gone above and beyond to help other students and staff. He is an extremely polite young man whose positive attitude and warm welcome towards staff and peers have been much appreciated by all in the St. Charles community. He is always respectful and he should be so very proud of his educational journey and accomplishments. Emilio is destined for further studies in is specialist field of IT in 2024-25 and we look forward to welcoming him back as our Alumni with even greater stories to recount. Congratulations Emilio!

Emilio donated his £300.00 to fund an end of year celebration for peers in the College’s Learning Support Department. The money will be used to provide a buffet lunch with food and drinks as we bid farewell, with peers, to a fabulous year group.

March 2024 – Laurentiu (Adrian) Oros

Laurentiu who goes by his second name Adrian was nominated by staff from the various departments he was involved with during his time in sixth form. Ms. Ahmadian our marketing manager highlights his strong community spirit. She tells us that Adrian has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and that he always had a real can do and positive approach in his role as Student Ambassador. He has helped at numerous Open Morning events where he has without fail been supportive and encouraging to prospective students and parents. Feedback reinforced that he was an exemplar ambassador. Adrian also gives freely of his time and has volunteered in the college library during his 2 years with us. Ms. Active describes him as a great addition to the Learning Resource Centre team. He was reliable in the LRC tasks he was assigned, assisting fellow students. In addition, Adrian was a member of the College Council where he represented the student body admirably. It is no surprise that Adrian received numerous college achievement awards from cross college staff for his services to the college and also from his Business subject teachers where he demonstrated great commitment to his studies, maintaining 99% attendance and punctuality!  His Business teachers describe him as a very polite and respectful young man towards students and staff who has gone above and beyond. He represents the college ethos well and is one of the faces of our college marketing campaigns. Adrian is going on to study Accounting & Finance at university.

Adrian donated his £300.00 to the college’s Marketing Department.  Manager Elena Ahmadian used it to set up a Rewards system for College Ambassadors (we have approximately 50 ambassadors) like Adrian, who give up a lot of their time and energy to promote our sixth form and courses successfully.

April 2024 – Karina Shynkovych

 Karina studied A Level Economics, History and Politics at St. Charles Sixth Form. Her Jack Petchey nomination was unanimously supported by all her teachers and is cited by all as giving 100% to everything she undertakes! Mr Smith, her Economics teacher, comments that “she has shown real dedication and commitment to the subject. Her relentless optimism and enthusiasm is infectious and she is an excellent peer mentor in class revision study sessions.” Mr. Sharratt, her History teacher states that “Karina is extremely driven whose constant quest to improve and excel makes her the perfect role model for her peers. She has worked extremely hard and has made the most incredible progress in sixth form.” Mr. Lamontagne, her Politics teacher echo these comments and says “Karina has been superlatively engaged and dedicated and helpfulness to other students have always set the highest of standards. She has dealt with every challenge with good nature and commitment and we remain deeply impressed by what she’s achieved.”

On target for an excellent set of A Level results, Karina has applied to read Politics and International Relations at university.  All of Karina’s accomplishments are highly significant as she has overcome huge challenges having come to the UK from Ukraine, having to leave family and friends behind, learn a new language and start a new life. She has shown incredible perseverance and courage. She has helped out across college with charity and open events and is described as a wonderful, kind and resilient human being.

Karina gave her £300.00 to the Economics Department who used it to subsidise a group of 40 A Level students to attend an Edexcel A Level Economics Revision Conference organised by Tutor 2U in April 2024.

May 2024 – Julia Farenholc - Kobylinska

Julia was nominated for this award by her teachers and cross-college staff. During her 3 years at St. Charles she has been utterly conscientious and ambitious. A common theme across her teachers’ citations focused on her resilience and determination to stick to her ambitions. They state she was an extremely hard working student who always sought feedback to ensure she achieved the highest possible grades. She never gave in or up! Mr Amin her maths teacher in particular commends this remarkable resilience in her Maths studies, a concrete example of where she continued to push herself to succeed in the subject.

Having come to the UK from Poland and having to learn English, her love of the English Language was infectious.  An avid reader, Julia quickly acquired a repertoire of high level vocabulary and was thoroughly enjoying perfecting her English on her GCSE course with Ms. McHugh. Her willingness to learn coupled with her passion for the subject were exemplary and she was a sheer joy to have in the class. It is no surprise that Julia is now off to read English Literature at university. We are so proud of her! Her tutor’s (Ms Mezghebe) description of her as “a softly spoken powerhouse” really sums Julia’s personality up! She is gentle, kind and considerate of others and always stands up for what she believes in.

Julia opted to give her £300 to the English Department and Careers Department to work collaboratively to organise workshops and a speaker for the new cohort of A level English Literature students at St Charles.

June 2024 – Thomas Manoukian Khounegy

Thomas was nominated by Mr Sewell from the Music Technology and his nomination was supported by Ms Nash from the Performing Arts Department for this award for his excellent contributions to the work of both departments during his time in sixth form. Mr. Sewell, his L3 Music Technology teacher told us that Thomas has been an outstanding student; he maintained exemplary attendance and punctuality demonstrating his commitment to and passion for his course. He superbly led on the music technology group’s final year music album release project. As part of the project he took a lead role in setting up and executing the production schedules, recording all team meetings, collaborating with external musicians to finalise the album which the whole group are incredibly proud of the end product.  He has been extremely hardworking overall on his course and is on target to receive a D*D* (Distinction* (star), Distinction* (star), the highest mark possibly which is no mean feat!

Mr Abbas, his Pastoral Manager states that he consistently demonstrated great leadership and had an excellent attitude to his studies. He received numerous college achievement awards and certificates in year which are testimony to his commitment and strong community spirit. This was clearly evident in his support of the college’s annual Christmas Cabaret Production where he led on organising the music technology equipment for the show which was very challenging with 25 acts being performed in succession! Thomas’ attention to detail is what made the tech side of the show run smoothly. His exceptional communication skills with both his tech team and the performers were thoroughly professional and exceptional for someone of his age and experience. He clearly has a foot in the industry! Thomas is also part of our enrichment college band and has played at various college events. Ms Nash, Head of Performing Arts adds that “Thomas has been extremely supportive of the Performing Arts Department in general and they have really appreciated his expertise and helpful approach in assisting the students with their singing exams through accompanying them on the piano and ensuring all exam footage was highly professional.”

It is no surprise that Thomas has chosen to give his £300.00 to the Music Technology Department who will put it to towards the purchase of two Zoom H5 Handheld Audio Recorders.