News and Views from Abbey College Birmingham Summer Edition 1
News and Events Abbey College Birmingham opens new Student Services Centre The Hub After months of planning and negotiations, we are delighted to announce that Abbey College Birmingham will soon extend its facilities with a 500,000 refurbishment of a neighbouring building, amounting to an additional 3,000 square feet of space, which we shall use to meet the growing demand for student places and, most importantly, to improve facilities for students. The additional space represents a 30% expansion of our premises and will enable us to focus on student experience as well as to further improve our teaching facilities. The new extension, which will open in September 2015, in time for the new cohort intake, will offer excellent student support services, top of the range communal areas and a large catering service in the new Hub facility. Provided by professional caterers, competitively priced, and with an emphasis on nourishing, wholesome and appealing food, as well as attractive surroundings in which to eat it, the food offering will include a range of early-morning breakfast options for those who like to beat the traffic before eating breakfast, all-day drinks and light bites and a full range of choices at lunchtime, from snacks to a full meal. International students will be able to eat an evening meal in The Hub before returning to their accommodation. The new space will provide a large common room and eating area, indoor and outdoor games rooms, a quiet zone and a range of student support services, including the International Office and the Student Welfare team. The Hub is immediately adjacent to the College so there is almost no travel time from lessons to The Hub and back again. This extension to our college facilities will release valuable space in our existing building, enabling us to create another science laboratory, install a sick room and make other improvements to our learning environment. We are incredibly excited about the opportunities The Hub will present when it opens in September. Abbey College Birmingham has a long-established and justly-deserved reputation for excellent teaching and high-quality student-care, and this significant investment will strengthen our ability to deliver first rate educational and support services for our students. 2
News and Events Lord Mayor of Birmingham presents Annual Awards Ceremony Abbey College Birmingham staff and students gathered to celebrate their academic achievements at the Annual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 29th April. This year the ceremony was held at the Priory Rooms in Birmingham City Centre and each award was presented by the guest of honour, The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Shafique Shah. Students studying for A levels, International Business Foundation Programmes and GCSE s received awards for their outstanding achievements, applauded by an audience of over 200 peers, teachers and parents. The Awards Ceremony is designed to provide an opportunity for the whole College community to come together in order to recognise and celebrate the considerable hard work and many achievements of students during the course of the year. Students were nominated by their teachers, which gave staff the opportunity to celebrate the success of Abbey College Birmingham students and to praise particular individuals for their hard work and effort. Stephen Robinson, Principal at Abbey College Birmingham, said: The students have worked incredibly hard this year so I am thrilled they were given the chance to be recognised for their efforts. I m proud of all our award winners and it is a pleasure to be able to reward with prizes some of our most hard-working students for their effort and achievements. Students at Abbey College Birmingham aim high and the College makes every effort to support them to achieve their aspirations. 3
News and Events Subject Award Winners Trophy Awards Ibrahim Lamis Dikko - Aston University International Student Award Callum Takhar - Outstanding GCSE Student of the Year Qijun Yi - Outstanding IFP Student of the Year Mai Duc Nguyen - Outstanding Lower Sixth Student of the Year Hassan Latif - Outstanding Upper Sixth Student of the Year International Business Foundation Programme Amina Ummi Bashir - Academic English Effort Award Samira Mohammed Bukar - Accounting Academic Award Chin Hung Sze - Accounting Effort Award Qijun Yi - Business Studies Academic Award Amina Ummi Bashir - Business Studies Effort Award Kewei Chen - Economics Academic Award Yina Peng Economics Effort Award Mohammed Nur Baba-Ahmed ICT Academic Award Danyi Sun - ICT Effort Award Kewei Chen - Maths Academic Award Shi Shi - Maths Effort Award Kewei Chen - Presentation International Business Foundation Academic Award Yuhang Liu - Presentation International Business Foundation Effort Award Lower Sixth Hadil Yahya Mohamed Benkoura - Academic English Academic Award Aisha Ali Saleh El-Agili - Academic English Effort Award Mariya Novichkova - Art Effort Award Aisha Ali Saleh El-Agili - Biology Academic Award Hiba Khamis Lusta Biology Effort Award Hibah H Moh B Shalabi - Biology Effort Award Yoon Khai Looh - Business Studies Academic Award Benjamin Yusufu Pam - Business Studies Effort Award Amandip Bhamra Chemistry Academic Award Marwan Ahmed Khalifa Chemistry Effort Award Mai Duc Nguyen Economics Effort Award Victoria Temiloluwa Adeola Kuye English Academic Award Arjann Janda English Effort Award Saleena Yaqoob - History Effort Award Hauwau Bello - ICT Effort Award Aisha Ali Saleh El-Agili Maths Academic Award Marwan Ahmed Khalifa - Maths Effort Award Arjann Janda Media Effort Award Yihang Chen - Physics Academic Award Iqra Yasin - Psychology Academic Award Hina Yasin - Psychology Effort Award My Linh Nguyen Sociology Academic Award Mutaz M A Issa Sociology Effort Award My Linh Nguyen OYA Maths Academic Award Zhengang Peng - OYA Maths Effort Award 4
News and Events Upper Sixth and One Year A Level Sadie Straker OYA Biology Effort Award Zexu Chen - Academic English Effort Award Mariia Korabelnikova - Art Effort Award Megan Wileman - Biology Academic Award James Wong - Business Studies Effort Award Cymran Kandola - Chemistry Academic Award Zainab Akhter Chemistry Effort Award Mariyatu Gurin Saadu Gurin - Economics Effort Award Megan Wileman - English Academic Award Amirah Bibinu Usman English Effort Award Richard Christopher Abimiku - ICT Effort Award Hassan Latif - Maths Academic Award Zexu Chen - Maths Effort Award Mariia Korabelnikova Media Effort Award Tung Duong Nguyen - Physics Academic Award Yadong Wan - Physics Effort Award Yasmin Takhar - Religious Education Effort Award GCSE Dameli Karakulova - Academic English Academic Award Yixu Wang - Academic English Effort Award Harjan Gahir - Additional Science Academic Award Dameli Karakulova- Additional Science Effort Award Sukhjovan Dhesy - Art Academic Award Arisa Yuennan - Art Effort Award Ranveer Johal - Business Studies Academic Award Callum Takhar- Business Studies Effort Award Visha Arquissandas - English Academic Award Callum Takhar - English Effort Award Anneka Faraz -Geography Academic Award Hasan Masood - Geography Effort Award Muhammad Abid History Academic Award Mir Mohammed Ali - History Effort Award Anneka Faraz - ICT Effort Award Wuyang Zhao - Intensive English Academic Award HaoBo Zhao - Intensive English Effort Award Bernadette Chow - Maths Academic Award Ali Nesayef - Maths Effort Award HaoBo Zhao - Physical Education Academic Award Wuyang Zhao - Physical Education Effort Award Fatima Sohail - Science Academic Award Arisa Yuennan - Science Effort Award 5
News and Events Abbey Birmingham Business Students visit The Big Apple Business and Economics students of Abbey College Birmingham have had the opportunity to visit the bustling Economic & Business super hub of New York. The Big Apple, otherwise known as New York, is one of the global leaders in terms of business and finance. New York is a bustling, cosmopolitan metropolis, full of culture and atmosphere and is a world business capital. During March, Abbey Birmingham students set off on a five-day educational trip, which enabled them to visit the Financial District, Liberty Island, Empire State Building, Madame Tussauds, Federal Reserve Bank, Ground Zero and see one of the world s most iconic skylines. And of course, no visit to New York is complete without watching a Broadway show and an American Basketball match. New York is a fantastic destination for introducing students to the buzz of the modern business world. Students were able to get up-close and personal with a wide range of organisations across a number of business sectors, which helped to deepen their understanding of the world of international business. Stephen Robinson, Principal at Abbey College Birmingham said: The recent trip to New York was a superb opportunity for students to see for themselves that what they are studying now is something that works in real life. Hopefully this trip has given students a huge insight into all aspects of their learning and will hopefully develop a new appreciation and understanding of the importance of the subjects. 6
News and Events End of Year Prom 2015 A Level, GCSE and IFP Students of Abbey College Birmingham celebrated the end of the Academic Year in style on Friday 22nd May 2015 at this year s prom event. The event took place at Birmingham City Football Club, where students were dressed to impress and received a red carpet arrival. The evening s entertainment included a delicious three course meal, music, photographs and plenty of dancing. The evening also included a student and teachers awards presentation, where students nominated their fellow peers and teachers. Winners included IFP student (Danny) Zefeng Xie who won Best Dressed Student, Lower Sixth student, Amandip Bhamra who won Most Popular Student and Teacher of Chemistry, Billey Mathew who won three teacher awards including Most Inspirational Teacher. Upper Sixth student, (Serena) Qiao Wang, was voted this year s Prom Queen and the honour of Prom King went to IFP Student, (Danny) Zefeng Xie. There was also a charity raffle, in aid of the colleges chosen charity, Acorns Children s Hospice. A total amount of 149 was raised for the charity. This was a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the academic year and rejoice in all of Abbey College Birmingham students hard work and achievements. 7
Sports and EPALS GCSE Students on First Aid Course As part of the GCSE Sports Programme the cohort of students successfully completed their St Johns Ambulance First Award. The course was held at the training centre in Lionel Street, which is a short walk from the College. The students learnt how to deal with a range of first aid incidents including dealing with a choking casualty and putting casualties in the GCSE students on First Aid course recovery position. The students also learnt how to perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation). This was a great course for the students, which they found to be extremely useful. EPALS This year several A2 students have volunteered to support members of the GCSE cohort through the mentoring scheme. This involved a six week training programme in which they familiarised themselves with mentoring techniques followed by weekly support sessions with their mentees. They have offered friendly and age related advice to any social or academic problems experienced by their mentees. This was another successful year at Abbey College for the epal scheme which has gone from strength to strength. Once again domestic and international students have met on a weekly basis to help the development of English speaking skills among our international cohort. This voluntary scheme means that many students have given up their free time to support their peers. It is surprising how something as simple as sitting down and having a conversation with someone on a variety of topics can build confidence in the individual and friendships across cultures. 8