Association of Colleges

09 June 2011

International film star John Hurt CBE paid credit to the role further education has played in his outstanding film and stage career as he received an Association of Colleges’  Gold Award yesterday (8 June).

John studied Fine Art at Grimsby Art School, now The Grimsby Institute, in Lincolnshire, from 1956 to 1958.  He was presented with his award by Lord Willis of Knaresborough, President of the Association of Colleges’ Charitable Trust, at the House of Commons.

He shared the stage with four other winners, including Conservative Party Chairman Baroness Warsi, who received AoC Gold Awards in recognition of their status as successful college alumni and as role models for hundreds of thousands of students. The awards illustrate the range and diversity of the work of Further Education Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges and the positive impact that they have on their students’ lives.

The actor, famous for films such as The Elephant Man and The Naked Civil Servant, said he is “forever grateful” for the time he spent at the college. He went on to study drama and is recognised as one of the finest actors of his generation. His career has spanned some 50 years, won him many acting awards and created a legacy of more than 100 films and countless stage and TV appearances.

At the awards ceremony he said: "I am extremely grateful for this award and my former tutors, Peter Todd and David Tarttelin, are no small part of it. I treasure my time at Grimsby School of Art and I look back on it with gratitude, both retrospectively and for its influence, which is ever present. On reflection, my two years there were not just necessary but of imperative importance. For this period of my education, I am forever grateful.”

The full list of this year’s further education alumni are:

• BAFTA-award winning actor John Hurt CBE, nominated by The Grimsby Institute, Lincolnshire
• Chairman of the Conservative Party, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, nominated by Kirklees College, Huddersfield, Yorkshire
• Stewart Milne CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Stewart Milne Group, nominated by Aberdeen College, Scotland
• Paul Burgess, Head Groundsman with Real Madrid football club, nominated by Myerscough College, Preston, Lancashire
• Entrepreneur Adeem Younis, founder of SingleMuslim.com, nominated by Wakefield College, Yorkshire

Lord Willis said: “The AoC Gold Awards are proof of the truly excellent work done by both students and their colleges across a variety of sectors; they demonstrate that, no matter what your aspirations, further education can make a significant contribution to your future success.

“I’d like to extend my congratulations to John Hurt, and to all of this year’s exceptional winners, who demonstrate just how far students can go when their talent and ambition is both recognised and nurtured.”

The AoC Charitable Trust presents the Gold Awards to a select number of former college students each year in recognition of the vital role further education plays in the careers of the winners and of their continuing achievements. To highlight the important role further education continues to play for today’s students the AoC Charitable Trust runs a ‘mini me’ campaign alongside the Gold Awards. The colleges each select a current student who shows promise in a similar field to their Gold Award winner.

These ‘mini mes’ also attended the House of Commons event and had the opportunity to meet this year’s inspirational winners and to find out more about how they achieved their success and the role that their college played in their careers.

Ends

For more information, photographs or to arrange interviews with the AoC Charitable Trust, the winners or mini me’s please contact Helen Galley, AoC National Press Officer, at helen_galley@aoc.c.uk or 020 7034 9973.

The pdf version of this press release contains full details of this year's winners:

  John Hurt wins a national AoC Gold Award

Notes to Editors
The Association of Colleges’ Gold Awards are in their 12th consecutive year and are presented by the AoC Charitable Trust to celebrate the achievements of former further education students and the impact their college had on their careers. Colleges from around the country are given the opportunity to nominate former students who have excelled in their chosen field, having benefited greatly from their experience of further education. This is to acknowledge the importance of further education, either as a gateway to higher education, or as a platform from which students can begin their careers.

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