50 amazing college stories to celebrate 50 years

Over the past 50 years, there has been an endless number of amazing college stories. To cover them all would take a very long time! So in keeping with our 50 years theme, here are 50 of our favourite College stories from the last few years.

Fabulous Fundraising

1. Lee Johnson, fundraiser and family member of student Patrick raised an amazing £5,530 by swimming the channel for Henshaws.

2. Student Flora and her parents walked and pushed Flora’s wheelchair for 50 miles over 9 days, raising over £2,000.

3. College students and staff took part in Henshaws Hundreds with hundreds of Makaton signs, star jumps, potatoes dug up and cans crushed.

4. Our brilliant Therapy team took on the challenge of the Yorkshire Three Peaks on a scorching hot summer’s day, raising over £2,000.

5. Student Matthew raised funds for Henshaws by selling T-shirts featuring pets or favourite animals as part of his enterprise sessions.

Amazing Accreditations

6. We are very proud as a whole college to have achieved ‘Good’ ratings from both Ofsted and CQC inspections.

7. Recently we made a commitment to reduce restrictive practices and became an affiliate of Price Training.

8. We signed up to the Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health.

9. Despite having to learn virtually, our students achieved an amazing academic success rate of 80% in English and 81% in maths in 2021.

10. The college was visited by James Tapster from the NHS’s Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service who described the College’s protocols, procedures and management of the pandemic as “second to none”.

Helping others

11. Student Chloe became an honouree member of the clinical team after helping a staff member who was choking on some water.

12. Students Marnie and Hira did an amazing job delivering brilliant braille awareness training to staff.

13. Our physiotherapist Lee created a series of Tai Chi videos, which we shared with students, families and the wider community.

14. Students Charlie and Jordan did some fantastic work supporting our Marketing and Admin teams in preparing a prospectus mailing.

15. Students took on the challenge of on-campus work placements including taking drinks orders, cleaning windows and sorting LFD Covid tests.

Physiotherapist Lee doing Tai Chi moves

Awards to be proud of

16. We were delighted to be shortlisted for a Natspec award for our partnership with the Fair Trade Shop in Harrogate.

17. At our virtual graduation in the summer, we recognised the empathy, enthusiasm and achievements of students with some very special awards.

18. We also celebrated our staff for going above and beyond to build confidence, develop independence and support achievement With a special mention to our cleaning staff for keeping everyone safe.

19. Programme Leader Aimee won a Silver Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education at the Pearson awards in 2018.

20. Our Duke of Edinburgh participants spent 104 hours volunteering showing a huge amount of dedication and effort.

Home learning

21. Student Isla grew some incredible sunflowers while learning from home which towered over her.

22. Roisin received support from our Vision Support Team to continue her road safety training, learning to cross roads.

23. Lucy celebrated Halloween and Christmas in style, sharing some fantastic photos. All with a huge smile on her face.

24. Millie and Jessica’s home learning journey included lots of baking, gardening and creating. Gareth worked hard on his Maths skills.

Student Isla with sunflowers she has grown

25. Alfie expressed himself through some unique new artwork which looked at how computerised speech outputs create patterns.

College developments

26. We stayed open throughout the entire pandemic, initially providing places for those who were most vulnerable and keyworker families.

27. We launched a new college website and knowledge village to make it easier for us to share all the amazing college stories.

28. We have a new therapy room which incorporates a soft play area for our students to use for sensory regulation in between education sessions.

29. Our next steps programme students are achieving amazing things at their new base of Henshaws Arts and Crafts centre. Student Jannick said he is “having the time of his life”.

30. Our open day offering has extended, with virtual and in person options to help families make decisions about their future.

Talents revealed at our Henshaws All Stars event 2021

31. Mounika, Jordan, Mason, Lara and Rebecca all impressed us with their wonderful singing. Shafiq even performed a rap.

32. Joe showed his drum playing talents. Alex, Emma, Lily and Charlie danced to some of their favourite songs, with some brilliant moves.

33. Sebastian took on a quiz challenge, while Rebecca showcased her amazing magic tricks.

34. Autism education students created a stop motion animation with some plasticine figures they created.

35. Simon gave us a tour of the college, using a brilliant graphic style on his finished video.

Imaginative and engaging activities

36. Our students took part in Sensory Skittles as part of their Motor Activity Training Programme. It was very messy and also lots of fun!

37. Students have been creating sculptures by making paper pulp from egg boxes. We can’t wait to see the finished items.

38. Last year when students were learning in bubbles, Holly created a ‘Bubble Breaker’ blog which allowed everyone to reconnect when they couldn’t see each other.

39. Gareth, James and Rebecca worked on a mindfulness tree display. They discussed topics such as emotions, and the effect that kind words can have to others.

40. New to the Autism Education programme this year is volunteering, giving our students an understanding of their value in the community and that they can have a positive impact on the world.

Wonderful opportunities

41. Our students have had some fantastic opportunities to complete work experience placements at Harewood House, Zen Sensory, Scope and more.

42. It was a joy to see our students back enjoying the onsite swimming pool this September after it was closed due to Covid.

43. Student Liam smashed through his anxiety barriers to deliver brilliant Kung Fu sessions to staff and students.

44. We’re very lucky to have had some truly inspirational guest speakers at our graduation celebrations. This year we had the pleasure of being joined by para-athlete Ryan Raghoo.

45. Students Holly and Dora helped us to interview for a key care role in College. They prepared questions, delivered them professionally and gave insightful feedback.

Our amazing supporters

46. Our students now each have access to their own iPad thanks to a hugely generous donation from the Shepard Building Group on behalf of Portakabin

47. We’ve had some high profile visitors to the college over the years. The college was first opened by the Duchess of Kent, The Countess of Wessex visited us in 2019. And more recently we were joined by the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, Venetia Wrigley.

48. We have been able to continue to offer the iMUSE programme in College, generously supported by Stowe Law Firm.

49. During lockdown we had so many kind donations of food and resources from local shops and businesses. We want to say a huge thank you to all of them.

50. And also, thank you to our student’s families who are continually supportive of the college and have shared their stories with others.

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