Students Take Gold, Silver and Bronze at World Skills Live 2019

Three West London College learners won Gold, Silver and Bronze at Inclusive World Skills Live 2019 in Birmingham’s NEC at the weekend on Saturday 23 November 2019. The three medallists, Ryan Eady, Benjamin Sewell and Yasser Elarichi won Gold, Silver and Bronze respectively and are all students based at West London College’s Southall Community College campus on the Inclusive Learning Sports Pathway.

The amazing trio all won their awards for Inclusive Skills: Fitness Training.

On scooping Gold, Ryan said: “Winning gold feels good and it’s a big achievement for me. It has made me realise I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.“

Ryan’s mother, Zoe Allen, said: “I was really proud of Ryan achieving this honour. With the help of his Tutor Conrad and Jan, he has excelled in his confidence and it was a pleasure and proud moment for me to see his achievement on the day.”

On winning silver, Benjamin said: “It was a fantastic day and I really enjoyed it. I feel very proud to have won silver.“

Bronze medallist Yasser said: “I was very surprised I won because I have never won anything like that before. Now I have more confidence in myself.“

Driss Elarichi, Yasser’s father said: “It was fantastic. Everyone’s hard work paid off. It was a brilliant day and the staff worked really hard. I was very proud of Yasser.”

In the run-up to the final Ryan, Benjamin and Yasser all gave one-to-one personal training sessions, as well as group training for Inclusive Learning and ESOL students.

The Inclusive Skills Competitions are for young people (under 25) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They are all about showing employers what SEND learners CAN do. They give young people the skills towards becoming employment-confident and employment-ready.

Learning Support Assistant, Jan White said: “Ryan, Benjamin and Yasser proved they are the best of the best in Birmingham and this is wonderful recognition that they will take forwards for the rest of their lives.“

This is the second year running that West London College has had medallists in the World Skills Live competition. Last year, West London College student Amardeep Dadral won his gold medal in the Inclusive Skills ICT Competition at World Skills UK Live.

Applications to take part in World Skills Live 2019 opened in November 2018 and registrations closed in March 2019. Throughout March and April Ryan, Benjamin and Yasser trained hard to ensure they had the technical and mental skills to compete. They took part in qualifier rounds, travelling all the way to Portsmouth in May 2019. The highest performers from each of the qualifier rounds went through to the national event in November.

Head of Inclusive Learning, Sajada Sajid said: ”The Inclusive World Skills Competition was a great opportunity for our learners to show the skills and expertise they have gained whilst at West London College. All three, Ryan, Benjamin and Yasser, were very professional, calm and confident on the day. It was a real proud moment for everyone who was present when all three received their medals for the hard work and commitment they put into achieving them. A big thank you to the organisers of the Inclusive WSUK and judges, as well as the support of the parents and staff prior to and on the day of the event for such an amazing and successful day.”

West London College is planning a local celebration to recognise the students’ achievements with a presentation from the Principal, Karen Redhead OBE.