Ashford School wins three national awards

Students and staff at Ashford School are celebrating after winning three awards at United Learning’s Best in Everyone Awards 2021.

Each year the awards celebrate the impressive achievements of students, staff and teams in schools across United Learning. They recognise a wide range of successes, including exemplary academic performance, dedication to leadership and service, as well as lifetime achievement. 2021 marks the ninth year that the awards have been held and the second year that the presentation has been conducted virtually.

As part of this year’s online celebration, each winner was announced via a personalised video, shared on United Learning’s Twitter feed to an audience of over 10,000 users. The bespoke videos include a photo of the winner, as well as a recorded message from a member of the senior leadership team at the winner’s school.

The winners at Ashford School were:

• Tybalt Pang who won the Science Award for students in Years 10-13.
• Francesca Russell who won the Support Staff of the Year Award.
• Heather Loughlin who won the Inspirational Teacher Award.

In picking up these awards, the winners saw off strong competition from a range of exceptional nominees across the country, with 400 nominations being submitted in total. To commemorate their outstanding achievement, the winners are each set to receive a glass award which will be posted to their school in the coming weeks.

Sixth Former Tybalt took home the Science Award for his thirst for knowledge and exceptional determination throughout the pandemic. Alongside mastering materials in his A Level studies, Tybalt spent six weeks volunteering in local hospitals where he showed compassion and empathy beyond his years. He also completed an online course at the University of Leeds to better understand the developments of medicine in cancer treatments.

Two members of staff also took home awards for their extraordinary contributions to the school. Francesca Russell, Head of Bridge Nursery, was named Support Staff of the Year for the inspiring leadership she has shown over the course of 25 years and the significant role she has played in developing Bridge Nursery into a renowned and highly respected setting.

Speaking of her award, Francesca said: “I would like to thank everyone I have worked with over the years for the inspiration and support that I have received.”

Likewise, Head of German Heather Loughlin, received the Inspirational Teacher Award for her strong teaching ability and her excellent pastoral skills. Since joining the school four years ago, Heather has helped to inspire a real love for the German language and culture amongst students, with the subject now the most popular language choice at GCSE.

Speaking of her success, Heather said: “I am delighted to have received this award. I am passionate about helping young people enjoy languages, and if I am an inspiration to students at Ashford School, they have been an inspiration to me as well. Their enthusiasm for learning is infectious and they have given me very fond memories both in the classroom and during our legendary trips. German is a fantastic language and it gives me great pleasure to share my love of such a fun and intriguing language. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my students and parents for their support over the past four years and thanks of course to Mrs Calver for nominating me for this award.”

Michael Hall, Headmaster at Ashford School, said: “At Ashford School, we are committed to creating an inspiring environment where our students and staff are able to grow and flourish. Tybalt, Francesca and Heather, are all excellent examples of what it means to inspire and be inspired by the people around you. I am particularly delighted to see that our winners represent multiple phases across our school community, from nursery to Sixth Form, showcasing the strength of our teaching and learning provision as a whole. Congratulations to Tybalt, Francesca and Heather on winning these well-deserved awards.”