‘I regret not working hard at school,’ says Dame Mary

STUDENTS at The Henley College were recognised for their achievements at its annual awards ceremony.

Almost 70 students received awards for achievements in A-levels, vocational studies, pathways studies, industry placements and elite sport.

The event took place at the town hall with more than 100 parents and carers. There were musical performances by Alex Wainwright, Felix Richardson, Zoe Hopwood, Zach Hatton and Clara Steuart.

Gaby Norris, 18, who lives in Binfield Heath, finished her studies in sociology at the college this year. She said: “It felt really nice to be recognised, especially because I wasn’t really expecting it. I just really like learning about the subject and then reflecting it back to real life and being able to understand why certain things happen in society. It’s nice to be able to see the bigger picture.”

Ms Norris, who also took sociology for her GCSEs at Gillotts School, said that she thinks she is interested in a future in education.

Aidan Small, 19, who lives in Sonning Common, was awarded for achievement in computer science. He said: “I’ve written my last exams and around September I’ll hopefully be starting a job or apprenticeship in that field.

“I am quite interested in the defence sector at the moment, in robotic and mechanical engineering and also maybe aerospace engineering. Those are all ideas at the moment.”

The audience heard from guest speakers Dame Mary Berry and Vikaso Robotics founder Vaibhav Boricha.

Dame Mary said: “Although I didn’t work hard at school, I do regret it. My advice to you is follow your dreams.

“My dream was to teach food and cookery which was what I loved doing. Follow your dreams with passion, devotion, commitment and a little modesty.

“My dream was cooking, I got told very early on to always smile. Everybody that has come up here today, what did they do? Smile and thank you, it goes a long way.

“I don’t remember much of school or my headmistress, Miss Blackburn. I was very frightened of her and the only time I went to see her was outside her door. There was a green light and it would go on and I would go in and get told off.”

The award winners were as follows: A-levels — Accounting Year 1: James Sawyer; Accounting Year 2: Maria Pajor; Ancient History: Morrigan Lynham; Art and Design: Gene Moroney; Biology: Charley Launchbury; Business: Marco Cannizzaro; Chemistry: Temi Odutoye; Classical Civilisation: Max Braund; Computer Science: Aidan Small; Criminology: Harriet Alkin; Dance: Charlotte Morgan; Drama: Fleur Williams; Economics: Bella Uygur; English Language: Rachel Dewdney; English Literature: Esme Powell; English Literature and Language: Lara Woolfson; Environmental Science: Oliver Short; Film Studies: Jemima Gregson; French: Rosie Wilga; Geography: Taylor Street; History: Julia Saladyk; Law: Logan Kay; Marketing: Iva Milanova; Mathematics: Yasshasvi Shetty; Further Mathematics: Jack Seymour; Media Studies: Angelika Szymczyk; PE: Evan Spiller; Philosophy: Sorcha Boomer; Photography: Alice Blades; Physics: Maurie Bish-Groucott; Politics: Hamish Sharp; Psychology: August Buchan; Sociology: Gaby Norris; Spanish: Luana Altarugio; Textiles: Bee Hurley.

Applied A-levels — Applied Human Biology: Millie Glenister; Applied Science: Keira Nikulshyn.

Vocational Level 2 & 3 – Business: Robbie Dawson; Creative Media Production: Megan Darlow; Forensic and Criminal Investigation: Beth Caseley; Health and Social Care: Amirah Kaddu; ICT and Computing: Miranda Katz; Music: Tamara Jovanova; Performing Arts: Dylan Evans; Public Services: Gemma Marsh; Sport and Exercise Science: Calum Knight; Sport, Fitness and Personal Training: Ben Anderson; Sports Industry Skills: Marco Sechi; Travel and Tourism: Lili Fernandes.

Engineering — Peter Howard Memorial Award: Nathan Coole.

Elite Sports — Football: Kyle Dawes; Rugby (boys): Josh Schmidt; Rugby (girls): Malene Bowden-Evans.

Level 1 and Pathways — Level 1: Eliza Carvill; Pathways: Marcus Leith-Snow.

Industry Placements — Bobby Mott, Frankie Cox.

Welfare Award — James Slade, Zoe Matthews.

Personal and Professional Development Tutor Award — Jess Low, Hasnain Javed.

Brakspear Award — President: Libby Robey; Vice-president: Maya Sesay.

Principal’s Award — Tamia Ryan, Frankie Cox, Meg Jacobs, Crystal Collins.

The event was also sponsored by Brakspear, Henley Educational Trust, Henley Hawks Rugby Club, and Vikaso Robotics.