What person (real or fictional) or artistic work has had the biggest impact on your life? Why?

An educated and inspiring role model of mine, more commonly known as the head of the economics department, Mr. Gibb. A teacher that brought about an insatiable passion for the study of economics and inspired many students, including myself, to pursue the subject beyond the A-level specification. This essay will explore the personal and educational positive experiences resulting from my time as a student under Mr. Gibb.

Having first been introduced to him as the stern teacher that commands respect, I found it inspiring that this seemed to be the class where everyone had learned the most, especially as inattentive year 9 students. He would make complicated concepts seem easy with flawless explanations and gave up his own time after class to help students clear any misunderstandings. Through his guidance and teaching, I was able to achieve an A* in his GCSE subject. Seeing him grin on results day was something that amplified how proud I was of my achievements.

Through encouragement by Mr. Gibb, I picked up Economics at A-level and grew to love it. In March 2020, COVID-19 caused a shutdown of all schools in the country. Although the Economics department was less tech-savvy, Mr. Gibb had been the first teacher of all my subjects to begin effective online teaching. When students’ motivation was low, and the thought of examinations seemed so distant, he pushed on and kept us all on track. This support had allowed me to achieve a grade A in my year 12 examinations, setting me up for my university applications for Economics in the coming months.

By January of 2021, I was exhausted. In the few months before this, my father had suffered a life-changing stroke and I was tasked with sole caring responsibilities once he was home. I loved helping my father, but this had caused me to miss out on thorough preparation for the Cambridge admissions process. This ultimately led to me being rejected from my dream university. I was at my lowest, with minimal hope of pushing through and achieving the grades that I was predicted. Even at my worst, Mr. Gibb firmly believed I could achieve what I initially wanted. He stood by me as a teacher and a friend, helping me along the way.

Thanks to Jon Gibb, for his academic and personal support, I was able to achieve the grades I set out to achieve. In August 2021 I was awarded 4 A* grades in all my academic subjects, having scored the highest in the cohort in the Economic examinations, but he did not think I was done yet. Under his advice and due to personal circumstances, I took the risk of rejecting all my offers from top institutions to reapply to my dream university. Thankfully I was successful in my second application, and he was overjoyed. I attribute my academic success to Jon Gibb, and I only hope that other students across the world can meet teachers as great as mine.

What would winning a Crowd Scholar scholarship mean to you?

Winning the Crowd Scholar scholarship would benefit me beyond just financially. By applying to stronger universities outside of my home city I have had the ultimatum of remaining and caring for my father or moving out and pursuing a world-class education at the University of Cambridge, one my father has always encouraged. Through long discussions and the push from my father, I have decided on moving to Cambridge for my studies. Winning the scholarship would allow me to reduce the work hours needed to cover my living costs, freeing up time to focus on my studies and allowing me to support my father during term time.

Having come from a disadvantaged background, financial support from my parents is not a viable option. Having access to the scholarship on offer would allow me to finance the cost of living in Cambridge, which is substantially higher than in my home city of Sheffield. It will also open up opportunities for pursuing unpaid internships and insight weeks to assist me in finding the industry I would like to apply my skills beyond graduation. This would support me in developing my technical and soft skills beyond the confines of a lecture hall and thoroughly prepare me for the world of work to come.

I taught Ayman from 2016-2021. Ayman successfully passed 11 GCSEs, achieving the top grade 9 in over half of his subjects.

Ayman chose to study A Level courses in Economics, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. He resisted the advice to reduce his subjects from four to three, and never failed to balance the workload and never missed a deadline. His talent and endeavour was rewarded with 4 A* grades. Ayman was a student who would normally be found working in the school building from 7:30am until students were asked to leave at 5pm. While he did not complain, the restrictions of Covid impacted his ability to study in his preferred manner. He qualified as a pupil premium student and had to care for his father who is recovering from a stroke. Despite these challenges, Ayman was one of the top performers out of almost 300 students.

Ayman was deeply interested in Economics, well beyond the bounds of the specification, and was always keen to share his experiences of the MOOC's and wider reading which he undertook. He was always willing to consider the alternative policy view. Ayman was equally skilled in micro and macroeconomics, and made considered analytical and evaluative arguments in his written work. Within the classroom, Ayman often took a leading role in both formal and informal group work and paired tasks and made excellent contributions to discussions. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he was exceptionally considerate and personable. He grasped large new concepts quickly, and was meticulous in ensuring he has fully mastered the work. He particularly enjoyed the topics in Physics which are relevant to daily life, such as electricity, where he showed an ability to link mathematical descriptions with carefully written explanations of what was actually happening. He relished a challenge, and achieved a bronze in the British Physics Olympiad. Ayman solved complex mathematical problems via logical deconstruction and analysis, identifying the most effective and efficient approach to an accurate, meaningful and succinct solution. Ayman was able to make links with other mathematical concepts and topics with confidence and ease. The common theme articulated by each of his teachers is that A levels did not stretched him academically. Ayman was a very well organised individual who was punctual, met deadlines, and was a reliable member of any group. This was demonstrated when he entered a challenging essay task set by the Bank of England along with leading the Maths Challenge at Sheffield Hallam University. Ayman is a young man from a humble home and will be the first in his family to apply to university. In his year out he continues to read around subject matter, most recently entering an essay competition on the risks around negative interest rates in monetary policy. Ayman has also acted as a mentor to some of my current A level students. Ayman has the intellect and drive to make a success of the most challenging of courses. I strongly support his application for your support.