A Bradford based after-school club has brought home a top award from London
Manningham based, Raising Explorers, have been awarded The Sankore University Award for Excellence in Education by The Muslim News.
Raising Explorers were invited to attend the prestigious event hosted by The Muslim News in London at the Grosvenor Marriot Hotel in Mayfair.The Muslim News is the largest independent Muslim newspaper in Britain, and the hosts of the annual ‘Awards for Excellence’ event, which recognises achievement and promotes excellence within the UK Muslim community. Those that attended included Sir Richard Hoyle (Speaker at the House of Commons), Yvette Cooper (Shadow Home Secretary) and Journalists such as BBC’s Faisal Islam (Economic Editor, BBC) and Channel 4’s Cathy Newman (Journalist).
The 2012 established out of school learning club, were victorious despite being up against some stiff competition from co-finalists, The East London Mosque Archives Project, and Mehmet Asutay.
A spokesperson from Raising Explorers said: “We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our co-finalists as we feel each of them in their own way has put in extensive efforts to educate and inspire others to learn and work towards a common mutual community focussed goal.
“We recognise every organisation as a winner and congratulate them all in their ongoing efforts to make a difference. We would also like to thank Al-Khair Foundation who sponsored the Award.”
The Muslim News panel of judges were also incredibly impressed by the Bradford club. They said: “As judges, we go through a rigorous process. We had so many applicants, however, Raising Explorers truly stood out as a truly inspirational project and we hope to see more similar projects across the UK in the near future as the impact you have made on engaging and educating the youth is truly commendable, while providing a much needed out of school childcare service to working parents without which they would struggle to work”.
Abu Mustafa Co-founder of Raising Explorers said: “I would like to dedicate this Award to all of our team. The team has always been passionate about ensuring each child is treated as an individual and supported to achieve their full potential in every way. Our 10-year anniversary is coming up this year and this has been an early anniversary gift to our staff for their tireless dedication and contribution towards ‘Raising’ the next generation of ‘Explorers’. I would also like to thank the parents who entrusted the care of their children to Raising Explorers and of course, we cannot go without mentioning the children who attended Raising Explorers”.
Khalil Shah, Head of Operations at Raising Explorers added: “We are absolutely delighted that we have been recognised by such a prestigious body for our endeavours. For almost 10 years together as a team we have worked tirelessly to ensure every child received exceptional care and nurturing while in our care. Our parents and children have always acknowledged and appreciated our services, however, to now be appreciated nationally has really boosted the team’s morale and given us cause to celebrate even more!”
