A teenage Salford City College student from Iraq has won a presitigious science award despite arriving in the country speaking little English and caring for her chronically-ill baby sister.
Roua Sami, 18, was handed the accolade for Outstanding BTEC Science Student of the Year 2015 at the National BTEC Awards in London on 7 July.
Judges nominated her as an excellent ambassador for BTECs and for women in science as a whole.
Roua arrived in the UK in 2012 without any high school education and only a limited grasp of English.
While looking her desperately sick 19-month old baby sister, Roua signed up for evening classes in GCSE Physics and Chemistry.
She has now gained the qualifications she needs to get into Durham University’s Pharmacy degree course starting in September.
She is also on track to receive a triple-starred distinction in a Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science from Salford City College’s Pendleton Sixth Form Centre.
“I am thrilled to win this award,” said Roua.
“My BTEC has helped me understand so much about science.
“It has also given me more self-confidence as well as the determination, motivation and the desire to accomplish my ambition of becoming a pharmacist.”
It’s the fifth year in a row that a student from Salford City College has been selected as either a winner or a runner-up at the Awards.
Dr Chongwei Chua, Head of Science and Maths at Salford City College’s Pendleton Sixth Form Centre, added: “We are extremely proud of Roua’s ground-breaking achievements. Her award is a strong reflection of her vast amounts of hard work, determination and ability.
“This is the second consecutive year and the third time overall that a Salford City College student has won the Outstanding Science Student of the Year award, showing that our science provision is among the very best in the country.”
