126 nominations. Top 10 finalists. 1 winner.

We are thrilled to reveal the winner of The Gateway Qualifications Access to HE Tutor of the Year Awards 2021 is Charlotte Condon.

Congratulations to Charlotte Condon and South Essex College.

“Thank you so much! I am overwhelmed. It’s been difficult for everyone, having to adapt to this way of learning and having to do it apart. The students have got me through those dark January days so it’s wonderful to know that I was there for them too.” – Charlotte Condon, Access to HE Tutor, South Essex College

Here are a few reasons why your students nominated you:

“Charlotte really is the rock of the course and without them, I’m not sure I would still be on the course right now.”

“Has gone above and beyond what is expected of a tutor and managed to pull me out of my own head and get me back on track”

“Being a tutor isn’t easy but Charlotte manages to balance everything in a way that I have never experienced with an authority figure; a true queen!”

“I’m not sure they know it, but Charlotte has helped my mental health – has such a way with words, and an uplifting energy!”

“Charlotte has been a really engaging tutor in classes, really making online learning easy and enjoyable. Online learning during the pandemic is far less stressful than it could have been.”

“Things are difficult at the moment due to all of our learning being online, but thorough online lessons and the masses of online content Charlotte provides us with on Moodle has helped me massively.”

The education sector has been particularly challenged as we adapt to the ways of living, working, and learning during the pandemic. This year, we will celebrate and name the top 10 finalists because everyone deserves recognition for helping learners to the end of their diploma.

Top 10 (in alphabetical order according to first name):

  1. Ah-Yam Chan, Newham College
  2. Anne Tothill, South Essex College
  3. Charlotte Condon, South Essex College
  4. Clare Kirby, Adult Community Learning – Essex
  5. David Obatomi, New City College
  6. Fosterer Joseph, Waltham Forest College
  7. Jennifer Cass, New City College
  8. Julia Anderson, Hertford Regional College
  9. Leigh Belcher, Chelmsford College
  10. Mel Brookstone, City and Islington College

As part of the nomination form, students were asked to describe their tutor in 3 words. We have grouped all of the words together into a word cloud to show what Access to HE means to them.

Thank you for helping to make the second year of the Tutor Awards a huge success by sharing the nomination form and posters. Access to HE students are always excited to talk about their experience on the course because of the unique and intense journey they are on, which is different to the traditional route through education. Our Awards are a pleasure to host, and we are already excited to see what 2022 brings!