Students have received recognition for their excellent academic progress and positive contribution at their club by making the shortlist for LFE’s Learner of the Term for September to December 2022.
Here are the runners-up for the main prize, who have all been awarded a £40 Amazon voucher:
Macey Collins – Birmingham City Community Trust
Macey’s tutor said: “Macey is a student that has overcome challenges this year and has flourished both in lessons and in football.
“Macey at the start of the year was a concern, as to whether she would take her education and this opportunity seriously. She struggled with the workload, the structure, and the routine of how we run our programme, which is 5 days a week.
“Since October 2022, Macey has become a new person. She is always punctual, attends all lessons and has grown in confidence to present ideas and feedback in a classroom environment, she has also gained a lot of confidence in football, to trust her ability and guide others in the team – for this reason, she was named captain of the team. She hands in assignments before the due deadline, to a good standard, and always offers help and support to those that are struggling to complete their work.
“She volunteers her time as ‘ball retriever’ for the men’s and women’s football games and encourages others to join her, she now has a group of the girls’ team that has followed her with this. She has also expressed her interest in joining coaching programmes within the community trust to help her gain experience in coaching and support in getting a FA Level 1 qualification.”
Jack Watts – Accrington Stanley Community Trust
Sam Morris, Jack’s tutor said: “Jack has made a good start to life here at Accrington Stanley. Academically, Jack has achieved distinctions on all of his assessed work so far on the course, showing a good attitude towards learning, asking his tutor for advice to ensure he achieves distinctions. Jack has also been undertaking regular work experience and has received positive feedback from the staff he has worked with.
“Jack’s attitude and dedication overall to the course and his self development has been pleasing to see and has been commented on by tutors, coaches and full time staff who he has volunteered with.”
Courtney Limb – Nottingham Forest Community Trust
Courtney’s tutor said: “Courtney has started the term in a very positive manner. She has had good attendance and is always punctual. Unfortunately, Courtney is recovering from an injury at the moment, which means is she not able to represent the girls U19s team but this has not affected her motivation or enjoyment on the course.
“One of Courtney’s bets traits, which is many, is that she has been very helpful to many of the other learners in the first term. Courtney has done well by getting her work in on time every submission deadline and so far, it has all been to a high standard. During periods where her work as been completed and other learners are still to complete theirs, she is happy to work with and support them in their efforts. She does not do the work for them, but helps them understand some aspects of the work and has become an unofficial TA in the room, she is such brilliant help.
“Courtney has a brilliant attitude to the work and is happy to take the lead when doing group work, but makes sure that learners are putting in their views, without her doing all of the work. Courtney is a pleasure to have in the group.”
Salvatore Baldino-Plunkett – Derby County Community Trust
Sports Lecturer, James Culf said: “Salvatore has been a role model of a student this term. He is a key character in his class and opens up a variety of rich and engaging discussions between his peers and myself. His work is of an outstanding level, not dropping below a distinction in all assignments submitted so far. The level of work he is submitting is far beyond level 3 BTEC, almost reaching university standard work. He has also recently passed his maths GCSE which he is thrilled with.
“Salvatore has also shown responsibility in his own lessons, taking charge and making sure everyone who needs help gets it.
“He is recently back from a long-term injury and is regularly back playing in the A team, where he has shown a great level of ability.
“During an NCS trip Salvatore showed great emotional maturity, where a learner had taken his own life and it severely upset a lot of the learners, Salvatore created safe and open conversations where learners could discuss their thoughts and feelings without being judged. Salvatore has been a role model student since joining this course and has really progressed during the recent term.”
Flynn Rushton – Carlisle United Community Trust
Liam Jackson, Flynn’s tutor said: “Flynn is a very hardworking and driven learner. He is a highly motivated student who sets his own standards very high. Although Flynn has struggled with knee problems in the past, when joining the course, he was hoping to take part in the football aspect. However due to two really bad knee injuries and being told by the doctors he can’t play he has been unable to take part in any practical sessions on the course. This hasn’t deterred Flynn in any way, showing a fantastic attitude to improving himself.
“Due to his injury and having some spare time he has taken it upon himself to complete the FA Introduction into Talent ID and FA Playmaker courses. He has also volunteered himself on matchdays to do some match analysis. This includes coming along to the games and tracking certain aspects/stats during the game which he then feeds back to the players and coaches. He also took ownership of contacting Carlisle United’s first team performance analyst to arrange a meeting. He wanted to find out about the role and what he can do to pursue a career in Football Analysis. Flynn has ensured he is using all opportunities to develop his own knowledge and understanding whilst gaining as much experience as he possibly can. He has remained consistent in the class, ensuring his grades and assignments are of excellent quality, achieving distinctions in all work submitted so far. He is a joy to have around the club and is always looking for ways to better himself, both in and out of the classroom.”
Christian Tree – Southend United Community Trust
Head of Education, Andy Edmunds said: “Christian enrolled onto the BTEC Level 3 Sports Coaching and Development course in September and has shown excellent attendance and punctuality from September – December (Term 1). He has demonstrated confidence and excellent communication skills in a relatively short space of time and produced work to an excellent standard, achieving a Distinction in his first assignment on the Level 3 qualification.
“Christian has been respectful towards all Southend United Community & Educational Trust staff members including Development Officers, Education Tutors, Coaching Team and his peers. He has attended all training sessions and supported other players in the A, B and C teams respectively.
“Another area where Christian has significantly improved is his attitude to work and attitude to work experience. The Trust hold a variety of different coaching sessions in schools, development centres, walking football and girls cup and Christian has volunteered to support the trust and work towards his 30 hours work experience here at the football club.”
His coach Ross Johnson explained: “Christian has been a pleasure to work with in the first few months of the study programme. He was introvert at the beginning of the course however during the first few months, he has shown confidence, leadership skills and hard work, both on the football pitch for the A team and the academic side of the of the programme.”
Vinny Marshall – Mansfield Town Community Trust
Education Officer, Ben Cocker said: “Vinny joined us in September as a very enthusiastic individual, who wants to grasp every opportunity on the Post-16 CEFA programme in and out of the classroom. Early on in his first term he faced a setback in which he has had a serious knee injury, thus ruling him out of playing for the rest of his first season in the squad. Despite this, he has remained very positive and has continued to work hard, showing a great keenness to achieve great results in his BTEC studies.
“As well as this, Vinny has shown outstanding commitment, working well with the coaches in club to still support training sessions, remaining a key part of the group, developing his understanding of his teams play and tactics by attending sessions to build his awareness of their dynamics in their extra-curricular sessions.
“Vinny supports others well, inside the classroom and has been able to apply himself fully to all aspects of the programme in order to achieve higher grades in his coursework so far.”
Amy Worlock – Bristol Rovers Community Trust
Amy’s tutor said: “Amy has been nominated due to her outstanding efforts and resilience this term. After breaking her hand, Amy showed true grit and determination to overcome this and has worked extremely hard to still complete her work to the best of her ability (even when typing with her non preferred hand!).
“Amy’s work is always of a high-quality, with her being an excellent role model for her peers. She has inspired others to improve their work and often supports others when they may be struggling. However, what is equally as impressive, is the work Amy is willing to do away from her studies. She often volunteers for the trust on match days, holiday activities, open evenings and has also been on BBC radio to promote the trust.
“Amy always goes above and beyond and thoroughly deserves the recognition.”
