Congratulations to Henry on his CIFE academic award. It is a pleasure to announce that Henry Asson a Duff Miller student from March 2010 to June 2011 was presented an academic prize at the annual CIFE awards held at the House of Lords on 17th March 2012. The competition for awards is fierce with many students scoring 100% in every unit; with national ranking exam performances usually being needed. Henry achieved A*AA in English Literature, History, Philosophy and is now studying English Literature at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. Duff Miller wishes him congratulations and the best of luck in his academic future.
COLLEGE CIFE AWARD
Henry Price
Henry is quite an exceptional young man. Henry has Cystic Fibrosis and rather than see his illness as a disability he sees it as a challenge.
Having missed over 7 months of school he joined our one-year A level programme and achieved; Mathematics – A*, Further Mathematics – A*, Biology – A, Physics – A* and Classics (as) – A.
Henry is quite simply an inspiration. I wish him all the best of luck reading Theoretical Physics at Imperial University London.
Exam Success!
For another year running Duff Miller College achieves outstanding exam results for the summer of 2011. Many students received three A-Grades and the vast majority have gained places at top Russell Group universities.
The Duff Miller staff would like to pass on their congratulations to all of the class of 2011. Well Done!
Remembering Dr Karen Woo (Duff Miller student 1997/98)
Karen Woo was interviewed for a place at Duff Miller College at the beginning of September 1997. We had just started a Medical Programme designed to prepare students for places at Medical School, so in addition to A-Level subjects students were exposed to interview training, contact with Medical admissions tutors and a range of talks about ethical issues affecting the Medical profession. Karen was 22 when I interviewed her, so she was slightly older than a typical participant in the programme, but she quickly fitted in to the academic rigour of the Medical programme, fully participating in all its social and academic elements.
When I first met Karen it quickly became apparent that she was a very ambitious student. She was in very competitive sets in Chemistry and Mathematics and I do recall that of eighteen students studying retake Chemistry that year, seventeen achieved A-grades. Needless to say, in spite of gaps in her education, Karen was a straight A-grade student in both Mathematics and Chemistry.
Coming from a background as a dancer and being largely self-supporting, I was able to offer Karen financial support in the form of a bursary to allow her to continue with her studies. I recognised in her the potential to become an excellent doctor and I am glad that my judgement was later confirmed by her contributions to the Medical profession as a surgeon not only in the UK but also in other parts of the world.
Reading what has been written about Karen, I can only concur with the sentiments expressed. She was vivacious and charismatic with the kind of interpersonal skills which ensured she was popular with everyone around her. The fact that she was pushing the boundaries in her work and career does not surprise me. My last contact with Karen was when she asked me to write a reference for her temporary job as a ‘skywalker’ on the wing of an aircraft. Our thoughts are with her family and friends.
Karen was killed in Afghanistan on Friday 6th August 2010. She was working for an Afghan-based organisation, the International Assistance Mission, when she and nine others were killed by gunmen.
Clive Denning Principal
Nicola Glowgowski receives award at the CIFE House of Lords Student Awards
At the annual CIFE Academic Awards Presentation held at the House of Lords on Friday 26th March, Baroness Perry of Southwark presented awards for academic excellence to more than thirty students who achieved outstanding A level and GCSE results last summer. Baroness Perry, former Chief Inspector of Schools, is the Honorary President of the Council For Independent Education (CIFE). She said: "It is a great pleasure to celebrate the excellence and achievement not only of these outstanding students, but also their parents for supporting them, and all their teachers and colleges."
Nicola joined Duff Miller in September 2008 to follow four one year Intensive A-Level courses in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Japanese. Nicola was from an international background and therefore had to acclimatise very quickly both culturally and academically to the English education system. She did this excellently and achieved four straight A grades in just 9 months, and averaging over 90% across all her chosen subjects. Duff Miller has no hesitation in awarding Nicola the top student accolade for the graduating year of 2009.
