Rissvoy Scarrott (age 28 years) Highly Commended Individual Learner - West Midlands.

A life of picking damsons and hop tying sounds idyllic if you are a child but for Riss the poor school attendance resulted in a lack of important life skills. Riss’s partner encouraged her to attend college; however, the break up of this relationship and the move to a new house in Worcester, with her elderly mother and disabled daughter, might have been tempted her not to continue.

But she didn’t give up; Riss continued to attend Malvern Hills College even though this now meant travelling a significant distance. By attending college at least four times a week her tutors noticed a marked difference in her self-confidence, self-esteem and motivation which have all improved dramatically.

She has joined the Family Learning Group, has taken part in the RaW ‘Six Book Challenge’, and is now much better equipped to manage the household bills and money matters.

Riss writes, ‘My learning has made a big difference to my life … My daughter uses a computer a lot and I now understand them. Joining the cookery class has helped me to understand why you need to eat lots of vegetables and I now give my daughter much better food’.

Rissvoy was nominated by Patricia Jones of Evesham and Malvern Hills College