Council and democracy

CALAT learner wins national award

Jamaican-born Calbert Williams, 37, from Shrublands, attends English classes with Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT) and had his piece of writing picked from hundreds of entries to appear in the Voices on the Page project.

Voices on the Page was launched in 2006 with the aim of getting adults in literacy classes throughout England to get writing and share stories and poems. The project is run by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in conjunction with the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC) and has resulted in a national online story bank containing over 1,000 pieces of writing.

Calbert was inspired to write his text, ‘Talking about reading and writing' when he saw the published anthology that contained last year's Voices on the Page entries. His writing will appear in the 2008 edition.

Says his former tutor, Julie Meredith: "Calbert wanted to learn to read and write to increase his independence and it has been wonderful to see how winning this competition has boosted his confidence. By overcoming his anxiety and attending CALAT classes he has been able to improve his literacy skills to the point that he can see his writing published. He is testament to the fact that it is never too late to learn and he is truly deserving of this success."

Calbert, who had never won anything in his life before, says: "People look at you as if you are nothing when they find out you can't read and write. I have always wanted to learn but it took me a couple of years to pluck up the courage to enrol on the course. Now I can write a proper sentence and it has really built my confidence. I want to carry on and to let people like me know that the teachers aren't monsters and that it doesn't matter what age you are, you can still learn."

During Adult Learners' Week in May, Calbert attended an awards ceremony at Shakespeare's Globe in London where former cabinet member and Labour MP, Tony Benn, gave a special address. After hearing his text read aloud by Meredith he was asked if he would appear on the panel to take questions and spoke in public for the first time.

Over 700 learners have attended English and maths classes with CALAT this year (2007-2008). CALAT offers a range of free day and evening English and maths courses across the borough, including in the workplace and at a number of community venues. For more information phone 0870 556 1630 or visit www.calat.ac.uk.