Madeleine Mellor

Here's why Madeleine was nominated by their tutor:

"I am nominating Madeleine for this award because she is an outstanding young journalist who I believe will go on to great things. She has two offers from the University of Sheffield to study a degree in journalism and is on track to achieve the distinction she needs to do this. This is exceeding her target grade.

Madeleine is a young carer, and has struggled with her own health issues while on this course, so her attendance is not always perfect. However, she works so hard from home that she never falls behind on her work, and she never asks for special treatment.

She originally joined the college on a Level 2 Hair & Beauty course, because the careers advice she was given at school was not to pursue a level 3 qualification. She achieved way beyond expectations in her GCSEs, was successful on her Level 2 course, but then decided she wanted to pursue her real passion, which is journalism. She has been brilliant from the start and continues to use her knowledge about hair and beauty in her work.

She is involved in enrichment opportunities, most notably, this year she has taken on the role of Editor of our end of year magazine, Quote. This is a huge task, which involves deciding what features in the magazine, commissioning student writers, and reading and editing thousands of words of student work.

It hasn’t put her off making magazines, though - her final major project is a magazine focused on beauty through the decades, interviewing industry professionals on topics such as beauty standards and misinformation.

Other work she has completed this year includes interviewing Sheffield Music School about their work with Tracks and Ed Sheeran; hosting her own TV show about entertainment in Sheffield; and writing a piece about urban farming and sustainability in Sheffield.

She is a talented multimedia journalist and a writer, which will make her an asset in the workplace. I’m really proud of her and would love to see her recognised for something like this, as she refuses to believe how brilliant she is!"