Top GCSE students receive £300 Colin Pond Scholarships

The sixth annual Colin Pond Scholarship Awards celebrated Barking and Dagenham's top-performing pupils, giving 64 young people from 13 schools the grant to spend during their A-level studies.

Students and their families attended a ceremony at The Broadway Theatre in Barking on November 17.

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Cllr Elizabeth Kangethe, cabinet member for educational attainment and school improvement  said: "The Colin Pond Trust Scholarship Awards is an important celebration in the borough’s calendar.

"I'm very proud of all the young people who have achieved outstanding results in their GCSEs and delighted that they have chosen to continue their studies in the borough.

Award winners from Dagenham Park Church of England School (Image: Jimmy Lee Photography)

"In Barking and Dagenham, we always make sure we give our students the best in education.

"As a result, we have had over 300 pupils from our schools going to top 33 per cent higher education institutions, including Oxford, Cambridge, University College London and Imperial College London.

"I’d like to thank all teachers and staff who played such a great part in supporting our students and helping them achieve their goals."

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Young Mayor Zubin Burley said: "We have a whole crowd of amazing young people who each year consistently go above and beyond to achieve GCSE grades like this that will set them up for their future."

Award winners from Jo Richardson Community School (Image: Jimmy Lee Photography)

Colin Pond was a councillor in Barking and Dagenham between 1998 and 2001. 

Before his death in 2001, he left money in a trust to help the borough’s young people continue their studies past their GCSEs.

Nine out of ten schools in Barking and Dagenham are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.

The Barking event was sponsored by BD Group.