Cardonald Student Triumphs at Scotland's Colleges Awards
10 January 2010
Inspirational Cardonald student Amy McGrandles, who was told she may never cope in main stream education, landed her third language Higher recently.
This tremendous achievement led to Amy and the College's student support team receiving a Gold Award on at Scotland's Colleges Annual Awards.
Amy, who is registered blind, has arthritis and Asperger's Syndrome first came to Cardonald College Glasgow in 2005. Since then she has achieved three Highers in Spanish, French and German and is hoping to complete the set by studying Higher English this year. The honour was for Cardonald's ‘Amy Experience' and Amy and her mother Hazel joined the team to celebrate the success.
Hazel said: "I am so proud of what Amy has achieved and much of this has been down to the College team's support." Amy added: "I have really enjoyed my time at Cardonald and making friends. The tutors were a great help and I can't thank them enough for how they helped me through."
The learning journey for both Amy and the staff who have supported her has been inspirational and has given all involved a reflective awareness of complex disability and how, as a team, the challenges can be met head on. Kate Sangster, Head of Student Support praised the commitment Amy has shown to her studies over the years and is delighted with the award. "Amy is a fantastic student. The challenges for the College in supporting Amy were evident at the initial interview stage, but it was agreed Amy's motivation to study with appropriate support strategies could lead to a positive outcome."
Kate added: "Our ethos at Cardonald is that there should not be any barriers to entry for anyone with a condition or disability who wishes to learn. No matter the impairment, we believe everyone is entitled to the same education"