Ayana is ‘Student of the Year’ finalist at the LeicestershireLive Education Awards 2019

13-year-old Ayana, a student at the Kumon Leicester Central Study Centre and daughter of Instructor Nina Pancholi, was a runner-up prizewinner for the ‘Student of the Year’ award at the LeicestershireLive Education Awards 2019. She was presented with her certificate last month at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, by actor, singer and weather presenter, Des Coleman!

The annual awards ceremony, sponsored by the University of Leicester, unites and honours educators and students from across the city and country. Celebrating a wide range of achievements, the ceremony covers 13 categories including Student of the Year, Community Champion, Sporting Excellence, Head Teacher of the Year, Healthy Schools award and more. The Student of the Year category recognises students who are exceeding beyond expectations, consistently achieving high grades, and making a positive impact in their school. Ayana’s school teacher recognised these qualities in her and nominated her for the competition, to acknowledge her for the outstanding work that she’s been doing at school.

Ayana is a Student Council form rep and Maths Ambassador at her secondary school, and helps other students to thrive in class. For all her commendable work, she has even been invited to visit the National Space centre in Leicester!

She is also a heavily involved member of her school’s Student Voice Action Team, co-ordinating and helping to plan initiatives such as Walks for our World, anti-litter campaigns and various charity events. In fact, she recently met with Green Flag Award assessors to explain what her school does to help the environment and as a result, the school was awarded Green Flag Status! Additionally, she is currently working on a school swap initiative to learn from another community and is organising a charity event to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. At just 13 years old, she is already considered a mover and shaker, acquiring a strong work ethic well beyond her years.

Having won the ‘Student of the Year’ prize at her own school last year, outperforming over 300 students, and being an active and influential member of the school, there is no surprise that Ayana was nominated, not to mention, a finalist at the LeicestershireLive Education Awards. She is an exemplary student who is demonstrating the ways in which Kumon is developing independent, confident learners who are well-rounded achievers.

Kumon Instructor Nina Pancholi attributes her daughter’s diligent and determined spirit with years of daily Kumon study. Ayana enrolled in the Kumon programmes at the age of eight. With daily study, she was able to develop strong foundations in maths and English, as well as grow in confidence. Before she reached secondary school, Ayana was already studying at an advanced level, which in turn has allowed her to flourish at a top-performing academy school. 

Nina said,

“Studying Kumon for the past five years, Ayana has gained confidence in her abilities and has developed a can-do attitude no matter what challenge she is faced with. She enjoys learning and is always willing to try new things. She’s enthusiastic about being part of the change at her school, as well as helping others to enjoy learning as much as she does. Studying Kumon has allowed her to become highly organised and methodical in her approach to work. She’s already achieving a grade 9 in her school tests, so I’m confident that she is well prepared for her GCSEs next year. She’s worked very hard and I’m proud of all that she has achieved.” 

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Ayana supports other students at the centre, and also works as a class assistant at the Kumon Leicester, Birstall centre. 2019 was a busy year for Ayana and looking forward to what 2020 brings, she hopes to be elected as Student Prefect at her school.

Ayana is an outstanding and inspiring student who deserves to be recognised for her achievements. Well done Ayana and congratulations on your ‘Student of the Year’ nomination!