A former Weston College student is to become one of the youngest people in the country to be awarded a doctorate, after her work with local charity Integrate Bristol successfully raised the awareness of Muslim women’s rights issues.

Fahma Mohamed, 19, who studied Access to Higher Education at Weston College, is to be awarded an honorary Doctorate in Laws by the University of Bristol on Friday (15th July).

She gained prominence after her successful campaign to raise awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM) gained the attention of the former Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove.

The petition led to training to help teachers, doctors and social workers identify and assist girls at risk of FGM.

Sarah McLaughlin, Lecturer and Study Skills Tutor for Access to HE, congratulated her by saying: “We are extremely proud of Fahma and are delighted that her dedication to raise awareness of such an important issue has been recognised.

“She has worked diligently to achieve her Access to Higher Education diploma and her commitment to her charity work prior to and during her studies, is commendable.”

Access to Higher Education is a course designed to give adult learners the qualifications they need to get into university.

Fahma studied the Medical Sciences pathway, successfully completing the course in June this year. She will progress to study Biomedical Science at Kings College London this September.

20 students from Weston College’s Health and Social Care and Early Years departments got the opportunity to visit Disneyland Paris last week to attend seminars on food hygiene, health and safety and supporting people with a disability.

The four day visit included free time in the amusement park as a treat for the students, some of which had never left England before.

Emily Parsons, who studies Health and Social Care at Level 3, said: “Disneyland was fantastic, we got the chance to meet students from all across the UK and Europe who are studying the same course.

“The lectures we attended were very informative and we can’t wait to go again next year!”

Sarah-Jane Lewis, Health and Social Care Coordinator at Weston College, said: “The experience was amazing for the students, and they got to learn about what other Colleges in England and France teach about the subjects they themselves are learning.

“It was also helpful for our Health and Social Care students to mix with our Early Years students as these subjects go hand-in-hand and interaction enables them to share ideas and best practices.

“The students were all professional and represented the College and Weston-super-Mare very well and they were a credit to themselves and our faculty. The students felt exhilarated and excited to be part of this experience.”

On Wednesday 21st February, Weston College Foundation Learning Football Academy took part in the Somerset FA’s first Inclusive Futsal tournament with the aim to encourage more players and teams to take part in this exciting format of five-a-side football.

The F.A. is keen to harness the benefits of this game and introduce it to further the technical development of young players.

Futsal is a format of five-a-side football that is played indoors with a smaller, heavier ball. The game is played to pitch lines and hockey sized goals, which helps to encourage improved decision-making and technical skill for young players.

These attributes were displayed by the two Weston College Foundation Learning Football Academy teams in abundance, as they were both unbeaten and conceded only one goal each in their qualifiers.

As a result, they found themselves competing against each other in the final.

At the final whistle it was a 0 – 0 draw so it therefore went to a penalty shoot-out.

Weston College Team 1 was the eventual victors winning the shootout 7 – 6.

Nick Chadwick, Weston College's Assistant Coordinator for 14-16 Link, said: "These exceptional results are a real testament to the team’s commitment, dedication and teamwork they put into their training every Friday. A fantastic result all round."