Celebrating Black Academic Achievment: Hackney Gazette

24 Sep 2009

Hackney Gazette
As many readers will know, every year I hold an academic achievement awards ceremony for London’s top achieving Black students. The awards are a chance to celebrate those students who have some of the best academic grades in the country, but who have also been involved in a staggering amount of charity and community work and extra-curricular activities. Last year we met young people who had helped build medical centres in developing world countries, who had played saxophone at Ronnie Scott’s or who had spent time tutoring younger students in their school. The sponsors of the awards – UBS – have been kind enough to support the awards for four years. They provide excellent prizes for the students (lap-top computers and MP3 players) but also provide them with the opportunity to receive mentoring from their top professionals.

Last year we were joined by comedian Lenny Henry, broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and businessman Damon Buffini. The young people were delighted that such big stars had turned out to give them their awards. As one young woman said at the time: “I cannot believe that they were congratulating me on my achievements!”. But the celebrities loved the event. Like other guests they were blown away by the stories they heard of students over-coming hardships to excel in their exams.

For the past four years I have received thousands of nominations for students who have excelled in their GCSEs, A Levels and at Higher Education. And every year the nominations we get tend to follow a pattern: there are hundreds of nominations in the GCSE category, about one hundred in the A Level category but only twenty or so in the Higher Education category. In some ways this makes sense. All pupils have to take GCSEs, many go onto take A Level (and particularly those that have done well in their GCSEs) and generally fewer students will go onto university. But at the same time we know that record numbers of students are now going to university. Whilst I think there are difficulties with universities nominating students, as institutions they do not have the same close relationship with students as schools do for example, I also think the lack of nominations in the Higher Education category is because there is still a lack of Black students going to the best universities.

Another pattern that emerges from four years of running the awards concerns the reaction of teachers and university staff. Understandably teachers want the best for their pupils, and they want their pupils’ achievements recognised. Every year I receive emails and letters from teachers who are disappointed that they cannot nominate students who have taken BTECs, NVQs or diplomas. Many of these students are extremely hard-working and thoroughly deserve praise for their achievements. But the aim of the awards is to challenge the stereotype of Black students as those that are not bright enough to take A Levels. The aim of the awards is to show that Black students achieve some of the top academic qualifications in the country.

This week I rang numerous academic departments in the top universities in the country asking if they had Black students they felt were worth nominating. I spoke to a woman in one of the best law schools in the country. She told me that “Black students do not take Law.” I spoke to a department at Oxford University. I was told that they “do not have that sort of student here”. The stereotype of Black students getting low grades, taking lower-level qualifications or attending second-rate universities prevails. And that is why the London Schools and the Black Child awards must continue to highlight the very highest academic grades.

 



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