Four former Bosworth College Students were recognised for Academic Excellence at this year’s CIFE Awards, hosted by the Lord Lexden at the House of Lords.
Bosworth Independent College’s Award went to LIU Chang (Chloe) who was thrilled to attend the ceremony with her mother.
Chloe, from China, excelled academically at Bosworth but was most especially-valued for her exceptional community spirit and warm smile.
Now studying Law at the University of Cambridge, Chloe attained A-level grades A* in Mathematics, A in Politics, A in Chemistry, A in Chinese and A grades for Advanced Subsidiary in both Sociology and English Literature. In 2017, she was awarded first prize in the ISA 6th Form Essay Competition in the Arts & Humanities category and was the Judge’s choice for the overall best 6th form essay! That a non-native speaker of English should be so acclaimed is quite astounding. The ISA Essay Prize almost overshadows Chloe’s other achievements; UKMT Senior Maths Challenge Gold, Cambridge Lower Sixth Chemistry Challenge Copper and RSC Chemistry Olympiad Bronze.
We shall never forget Chloe’s beaming face and humility on discovering she had been awarded a full Jardine Scholarship Award for the duration of her undergraduate course. We could not imagine a more deserving recipient and the whole Bosworth community shared the thrill of her excitement.
Whilst at Bosworth, alongside her studies and frequent time spent in supporting and encouraging others, Chloe found time to be a regular volunteer (Gallery Enabler) at the local museum, explaining the relevance of exhibits to visitors. She took responsibility for the handicrafts area (the busiest) at a local “Mad Hatter” children’s event and even found time to help set up an exhibition at Chichele Garden Fair where she then spent the afternoon handing out leaflets.
Chloe jumped at the chance to offer her input as a native speaker of Chinese when a local company promoting ethical farming was making a film for remoter regions of China. She never fails to grasp every opportunity to add value and share good things.
Although an outstanding student and a great personality too, Chloe let us down at the House of Lords by failing to eat her share of the afternoon tea. Her mother bravely tried a scone with jam but could not be persuaded to try the clotted cream.
PHAN Thi Ngoc Thu (Chloe), was awarded one of four Andrew Osmond Maths Prizes. Mrs Brenda Renouf, Course Director for Year 12 and Head of Maths, was one of Chloe’s teachers, and proud to be Chloe’s guest at the House of Lords.
Chloe, from Vietnam, is currently studying Actuarial Science at the LSE.
Chloe excelled in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, scoring 100% in 7 of the 12 A-level units. She attained 591/600 in Maths and 593/600 in Further Maths, securing an A* grade in each. In her first year at Bosworth, simply for fun and to stretch herself, Chloe took the opportunity to study Statistics to Advanced Subsidiary level. She was awarded a grade A. Her other A-levels were in Chemistry where she gained an A* and Economics where she was awarded grade A.
In the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge in 2017, Chloe achieved a gold award. In the UKMT FMSP Regional Senior Maths Team Challenge in 2016, Chloe represented Bosworth and gained 2nd place. In the Cambridge Chemistry C3L6 Challenge 2017 Chloe was awarded a silver medal and in the RSC Chemistry Olympiad in January 2018 she also gained silver.
Whilst at Bosworth, Chloe was always stacking up her merit forms for excellent work, helpfulness and all-round achievement. During her final year with us she attained a gold certificate, having gained the highest number of merit awards in her group that year.
Chloe is a very enthusiastic musician. She plays guitar, piano and ukelele.
Chloe is always clear-sighted and her tidy-mindedness extends into practicalities too. The boarding team at Bosworth could not fail but commend her on reliably having a very tidy room throughout her time with us.
CHEN Fanfei (Chris) was awarded another of the Andrew Osmond Maths Prizes. That two of the four went to Bosworth students is a source of great pride and congratulations are due to our excellent Maths team!
Chris, from China, is studying Mathematics at University College, London. He clearly loves Maths!
In A-level Maths and Further Maths, he achieved 100% in 7 of the 12 units. In Maths, he scored 596/600 and in Further Maths 570/600, giving him two A* grades. In Physics, he was just 2 marks shy of another A*. Chris studied A-level Chinese and gained an A grade alongside Advanced Subsidiary in Computer Science where he was awarded grade B.
We knew Chris excelled in Maths when in his Year 12, he was awarded “Best in School”, higher than even the Year 13 candidates, in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, winning a gold award.
Chris struggled against the odds to achieve so well in his A-levels. He suffered frequent illness to complete his course. In addition, he encountered visa difficulties, meaning he returned late in the Spring Term of his first year, missing valuable lessons and having then to catch up missed work.
Chris enjoys playing GO where his good strategic thinking is a great asset. In addition, he is a very competitive and successful basketball player.
Mrs Brenda Renouf was pleased to accept the award from Lord Lexden on Chris’ behalf but was defeated by the challenge of eating Chris’ share of the sandwiches and cake, even though she made a valiant attempt.
Bosworth’s fourth award winner was Motunrayo Saidat Bashir (Tuns), whose achievement was recognised by the Baroness Perry Award. Lady Perry is a former President of CIFE and we were delighted that she was able to accept Lord Lexden’s invitation to present the award in person, being so astounded by Tuns’ story.
To Tuns’ great disappointment, she was unable to travel alone to the ceremony and so on her behalf Fiona Pocock, Bosworth’s Principal, accepted her award.
Tuns, from Nigeria, is currently self-studying at home as at aged just 15, no university is yet in a position to accept her as an undergraduate. Tuns completed her A-levels in June 2018, the month of her 15th birthday.
Tuns attained A grades in Mathematics and Biology, along with an A grade in Chemistry and a grade B in Physics which she had completed the previous year, when she was only just 14. In her final year at Bosworth, she also achieved Advanced Subsidiaries in Psychology at grade A and Further Maths at grade B. Tuns has an insatiable appetite for learning and it is only frustrating that she is currently denied progression until she is a little older. She is to be commended, however, on nevertheless learning new skills, including coding. Her hungry mind finds things to keep it satisfied. She has a particular interest in Greek and Egyptian mythology.
In the British Biology Olympiad 2018 Tuns was highly commended.
Tuns was the youngest A-level Maths candidate in the UK in 2018 and the BBC Radio 4 Today programme lined up an interview, but news of the death of Aretha Franklin displaced her. She bore the disappointment stoically – just as she did when each university in turn, in the UK and overseas, explained that because of her young age, they were unable to offer her entry. She remains determined and has made further applications for consideration for entry at age 16.
It has been a great joy to witness Tuns’ initial shy reserve develop into gentle, out-going confidence. She became a key figure in the Bosworth community – admired by all yet reliably modest and pleasantly polite. She had a 100% attendance and punctuality record whilst she was with us.
