An English teacher at Ark Putney Academy has won one of ten "Inspirational Teachers" awards from Oxford University after intervening to ensure that a talented si
Aaisha is a Year 13 student at ARK Putney Academy who has just finished her A level exams in maths, physics and art. She is hoping to become the first ever female Kurdish commercial pilot and is going to study Aviation Pilot Studies in Buckinghamshire New University.
“My uncle’s a pilot. He used to tell me about planes and how fun it was. And I joined the Air Cadets and I flew and I started flying solo and then I felt the thrill of it and I was like, 'That’s it. I want to be a pilot.' That’s the day when I was definitely, a 100% sure where I wanted… what I wanted to do.
In my country as well in Iraq, there are no women pilots. So if I do become a pilot I will be the first Kurdish person to become a pilot.
Education is your oyster card. It takes you where you want to go. And I mean if you apply yourself to whatever you want to do and into your education then it will always be behind you 100%."
Aaisha
Sara, 18, from ARK Putney Academy has secured a place to study medicine at King’s College, Cambridge after getting an impressive A* in Maths, and As in Further maths, Biology and Chemistry.
Sara fled war-torn Kurdistan with her parents and two older sisters when she was just eight years old.
“There was a war going on and my parents decided to escape the country so we were asylum seekers when we arrived here. I never thought I would make it to Cambridge from that starting point.
The situation there is obviously not great at the moment, so I’m really glad I’m here."
Sara
Adekunle is a 17 year-old student from Burlington Danes Academy (BDA) in West London. He is going to study architecture at Cambridge University.
"My mum leads by example when it comes to education. She has a degree from Nigeria, but she's just finished her own GCSEs in the UK. Our teachers here are the same- at BDA, we have a lot of teachers who graduated from Oxbridge universities and they have an insight into what it takes to get in.
We did a residential trip from BDA to India and it was profound. We saw amazing, magnificent temples and while I'm not Hindu or Buddhist, I had this experience of being somewhere where there was a real sense of community. It made me think about how hard it is to capture that through architecture.
I hope to study architecture for three years at Cambridge, then it's another four years of work to become a fully chartered architect. I always wanted to be a part of a big architectural firm, but now I think I just want to learn how to create work that's moving and personal to a client- I think that would be the most rewarding of all sorts of architecture."
Adekunle
Pippa is an 18 year-old sixth former from ARK 6th form East Sussex. She has taken three A-levels, in photography, English, and health & social care. She will be studying counselling at Huddersfield University.
“My mum always said to me 'Don't count yourself out before you've even begun.' I’ve got a speech and language disorder, and I have special needs.
The teachers here have been brilliant. They’re very confident in me which makes me confident in myself. They want every student to be able to get the best out of their life. Even if you don’t go to uni, they want you to still get good grades so you can get a good job. I think because the school knows my situation, they've always pushed me that extra bit. They've told me 'if you need help you can ask for help.'
Something I've learnt through ARK is that you don't have to limit yourself. I don't want to be a counsellor because I think it'll be easy. I want to be the best counsellor in the world."
Pippa
Pippa is an 18 year-old sixth former from ARK 6th form East Sussex. She has taken three A-levels, in photography, English, and health & social care. She will be studying counselling at Huddersfield University.
“My mum always said to me 'Don't count yourself out before you've even begun.' I’ve got a speech and language disorder, and I have special needs.
The teachers here have been brilliant. They’re very confident in me which makes me confident in myself. They want every student to be able to get the best out of their life. Even if you don’t go to uni, they want you to still get good grades so you can get a good job. I think because the school knows my situation, they've always pushed me that extra bit. They've told me 'if you need help you can ask for help.'
Something I've learnt through ARK is that you don't have to limit yourself. I don't want to be a counsellor because I think it'll be easy. I want to be the best counsellor in the world."
Pippa