TWO students from Tweeddale were among those recognised at the Borders Adult Learners Awards.

Adele Gardiner, from West Linton, and Kevin Motion, from Innerleithen, were among remarkable stories of achievement in difficult circumstances, of learning in different ways, and of how lives have been changed by taking the bold decision to go back and try again.

FOR some people, learning comes easily – for others it can be a struggle. The message from the Adult Learners Awards however, was very clear – it is never too late to go back to learning.

Adele, who is married with a family, left school with no formal qualifications. Three years ago, she started working with adults with profound learning difficulties. Her dyslexia made her anxious about doing SVQ assessments related to her role, assuming that she wouldn’t manage to undertake the SVQ and write reflective accounts required for the award. However, she has persevered, and gained the first qualification she has ever achieved!

Now she wants to study more, has gained in confidence and self-belief, and proved that all she needed was the encouragement and time spent to explain what was required of her. She has been well supported by Borders College and Garvald, West Linton, who have given her the work-based experience she needed for the award.

Meanwhile, Kevin gave up a full time job in a dental laboratory to return to Borders College to study BTEC Level 3 in animal management. In order to pursue a career with animals, he needed an industry recognised qualification, so he gave up the financial security of his job, moved back home, sold his reptile collection and survived on a small bursary to achieve his goal.

At the same time, Kevin volunteers with Borders Pet Rescue in Earlston, and his skill and dedication led them to offer him a paid job there, which he now does in conjunction with his college course. His dedication has rubbed off on the younger members of his year – they can see that his hard work and determination to succeed has worked out and he is a great role model for them. In the future, Kevin wants to learn more about dog behaviour and training, in the hope of eventually opening his own kennels.

Veronica Blackwood, Chair of the Adult Learners Awards, acknowledged how hard it is to make the decision to come back to learning. The nominees at this year’s awards, however, have demonstrated that there are many ways to learn – through working, volunteering, studying and finding the right support to help achieve your goals.

“Our winners this year have shown exceptional determination and proved that they can get back to learning,” Veronica said. “Some had not studied for years, some had to overcome enormous barriers to get there, but they are here tonight to show that they’ve succeeded!” This year’s Awards at Borders College, Galashiels, were divided into 10 sectors: Young Learner, Mature Learner, Literacies, SQA, Care, Learner in the Workplace, Voluntary, Group sector, English for Speakers of Other Languages and Overall Winner. They were presented by Julia Mulloy, Chief Executive of Scottish Borders Housing Association, who also gave the keynote speech. She summed up the event perfectly. 'Education isn’t a straight line. There are lots of routes to learning, and it is hard to learn away from the traditional system, but the achievements here tonight show how interesting those routes can be.’ The winners were: Kaylee Brownlee – Overall Winner; Kevin Davidson – Literacies Award; Lewis Teckkham – Young Learner Award; Adam Toua – Voluntary Sector Award; Joanne Allison – Care Sector Award; Malcolm Baxter – SQA Award; Dean Fisher – Learning in the Workplace Award; Galashiels Men’s’ Shed – Group Award; Willie Watson – Mature Learner Award; Miglena Velcheva-Bozhkova – English for Speakers of Other Languages Award.