Birmingham student wins prestigious fostering education award
A Birmingham student was recognised for his achievements in education at The Fostering Network’s Fostering Excellence Awards last week.
Bishal Chanda, aged 21, received the Fostering Achievement for Education Award. He first came into his foster carers’ lives at four years old with a range of special needs, but his foster carers advocated for him to attend a mainstream school and supported him throughout. Bishal stayed with his foster carers until he started at Nottingham University where he currently studies Bio Medical Sciences. He still returns home in the holidays.
Bishal has semantic pragmatic speech disorder and this made it challenging for him to make friends in his earlier years, but he excelled in his education and was well thought of by his teachers. As he grew, his interests expanded and his passion for football soon helped him start to develop friendships, and in turn this lead to Bishal developing a more independent life.
With his steadfast dedication to whatever he turns his hand to, Bishal has learnt to swim, scuba dive, and play the piano as well as receiving three awards from the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and many other certificates for activities including karate and football.
Pippa Shariff, the foster carer, who nominated Bishal, said: “Through all his earlier problems he has worked quietly and steadily to achieve his dreams and his journey needs recognition.”
Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, said: “Education can be the bedrock for many young people’s lives as they move forward into adulthood. Bishal has had the right support from his foster carers, he has taken his opportunities, he is reaping the rewards, and I’ve got no doubt he has an extremely positive future ahead.’
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