The Committee of South London Principals (COSLP) held their annual Best Learner Awards on Thursday 25th May at the House of Lords to celebrate their very best learners and exceptional teachers.
Best Learner: Photography student Izzy Cowan
Since joining Kingston College two years ago, Izzy has amazed all her teachers through her hard work ethic, and prolific productivity. She is simply sensational, achieving the highest grades possible on all her photography projects so far, a consistently outstanding performance made more remarkable considering her learning differences and the fact she had previously been educated at Specialist Dyslexic School with small classes.
She has never missed a lesson unless it has been to go on a location shoot or look after her mother who at times requires a carer. This year she has set up her own website isobelcowan.com and professional Instagram account.
Izzy has enjoyed working collaboratively and she is always willing to support others, this year she has helped me run pinhole photography workshops for year 9 students and has volunteered to help a year 1 student with a self-portrait shoot. She has demonstrated impressive problem-solving skills, especially in the studio, when recording paint dripping into a fish tank or using colour gels to photograph products for advertising (I will not talk about the smoke machine and setting off the fire alarm as that did not go so well:). Anyway, the end results are always stunning reflecting Izzy’s remarkable creative flair together with her exceptional technical skills. I cannot wait to see her prints at our end of year show in a couple of weeks.
Whether working in analogue or digitally, Izzy is always keen to gain a full understanding of the techniques involved. She has excellent organisational skills, works incredibly hard producing work to a highly professional standard. She is very proactive and expands her interests in all directions. Her enthusiasm, ability and commitment are impressive and have rightfully earned her offers from all her university applications, securing a place at her first choice Oxford Brookes to study photography. Izzy is an outstanding student and fully deserving of this award.
Izzy was nominated by her tutor and COSLP Staff Winner Estelle Vincent
Estelle has been a teacher at Kingston College for seven years, and over these years has transformed the photography curriculum offer into a wonderful and creative, industry focused experience for our learners. She is a great exponent of traditional dark-room practice as well as cutting edge digital technologies, all approached with her passion for creativity and fun. She is an outstanding pastoral tutor who cares deeply about her students, effectively promoting their wellbeing and successfully supporting highly ambitious progression opportunities. This is a well-deserved recognition of a teacher who goes above and beyond to make a very real difference to the lives of those she works with.
Estelle also runs short courses at University of the Arts London and Morley College as well as creating her own work. For further information visit estellevincent.com.
