|
I was I was born in Ghana and trained as a mathematician. I worked for some years in the UK as a teacher, and set up and ran my own printing company. In 1986, concern about educational attainment of ethnic minority school children in the Chapeltown and Harehills district of Leeds lead me to set up in partnership with the community the Chapeltown and Harehills Assisted Learning Computer School (CHALCS), of which I am now a Director. The School provides additional learning for mainly ethnic minority students after school, at weekends and during holidays. Students can study maths, science including electronics, IT, English and self-awareness, using both traditional methods and computers. 33 Volunteer tutors, many of them students, help with the teaching, and these now include some graduate students who studied at CHALCS in the early years. Students are encouraged to take RSA exams from the age of 12, which provides powerful motivation at a critical point in their careers. CHALCS currently caters for 400-500 young people at any one time, and has a substantial waiting list. Of its many achievements one of the most significant is that 40 Afro-Caribbean young people have gone to university, studying a range of subjects including science and technology. Before CHALCS many of these students would not have entered for GCSEs. I have set up number of additional projects to run alongside CHALCS. A reading scheme caters for 70 – 80 younger children, with support from 33 volunteers from the community. A collaborative project has been set up with the University of Leeds, involving 2 PhD students who are writing educational software and setting up a website where this and other educational software developed by CHALCS will be available to schools and the wider community. In this way it is hoped the students on the CHALCS waiting list may be able to access software over the Internet (for example at school) and receive support from the University as well as CHALCS. In 1997 I set up the Pupil Enhancement Project (PEP), which is a partnership with a number of local secondary schools to meet the needs of year 10 and 11 pupils who are temporarily excluded. It is aimed particularly at excluded Afro-Caribbean boys. PEP enables excluded young people to study at CHALCS on work set and marked by their schools, with the aim of reintroducing them as quickly as possible back into school. For a number of the pupils this constitute their first encounter with a black professional, which can be very motivating. The majority of CHALCS work has been supported from charitable sources, though it has benefited from City Challenge and SRB funding as well. Prince Charles and Kim Howels have both visited CHALCS and they were both impressed by what they saw and its relevance to Government objectives. I have been successful in mobilising the local community, particular parents and a wider group of volunteer tutors to raise expectation and standards in a district suffering from significantly from social exclusion. I believe that education is a social equaliser and educational underachievement is a personal tragedy for young people and a great loss to society. I also believe that every child is capable of learning and that no child should be allowed to under achieve regardless of gender, race, social class and social background. My work extends to managing Technorth Family Learning Centre. Technorth Family Learning Centre is a Leeds City Council Training Centre that offers training to young people and adults. Technorth has over the years offered training in Electronics and Information Technology with match funding from Leeds TEC, SRB and ESF. I was appointed in 1990 when the Centre was going through some difficult times. In 1997 Technorth was restructured. The Centre now consists of: Call Centre Training Unit - (the first in Leeds) Providing training for adults interested in working in a Call Centre A Women’s Training Unit Providing training for women between 16 and 63 in Business Administration and Information Technology, leading to NVQs. Employment Access Unit Accessing adults into employment via training and work experience, individual and job search support. Key Skills Unit Providing skills employers regard as essential to getting and retaining employment e.g. communication, Literacy, Numeracy and Information Technology. In addition to contributing to the achievement of corporate objectives in my current and previous posts, I consider the following are personal achievements. CHALCS (Chapeltown and Harehills Assisted Learning Computer School): Provides activities and computer facilities which will develop and enhance educational potential of young people from Chapeltown and Harehills primarily but not exclusively. PEP (Pupil Enhancement Project): Working with 20 High Schools to provide support for young people excluded from school for fixed term period REACH: For permanently excluded pupils and school refusers with criminal records BEMIT (Black and Ethnic Minority Into Teaching): Collaborative Project with PATH., Education Leeds, University and LMU to increase the number of black teachers in Schools. REEMAP (Raising Educational Ethnic Minority Achievement Partnership): A new organisation involving a different Ethnic Minority groups working together to raise the educational achievement of Ethnic Minority children. Extension of Technorth: Instrumental in securing 2.6 million pounds for the extension of Technorth Family Learning Centre. Work due to start in October 05 and finish in December 06 MBE Award: For contribution made to the educational achievement of young people in Leeds Math Support: Voluntary support for young people in Maths to achieve top grades at GCSE and A Level. I am or have been a member of the following committees: CHEL, Education 2000(Learning Partnership), Leeds West Indian Carnival, Leeds West Indian Centre and F1 Business Support. I am a trustee for Wade Charity, Regional Advisor for Children In Need and a School Governor for Allerton High School, Bankside and Leopold Primary Schools
Birth Place: Janga, Ghana
Accomplishments: Achievements
My educational achievements include:
B.Sc (Gen.)Ed
B.Sc (Hons) Maths
M.Sc (Maths.)
Awards
Member of the British Empire (M.B.E): for a contirbution to the education of young people
Lifetime Difference Award: for a lifetime contribution to the education of young people
Black Achievers Award: for a contribution to the education of Black and Minority Ethnic children.
Anniversary Award: for the acknowledgement of the contribution made to the African/Caribbean Community
|
