Patty Thebe, English Lecturer at SMB College Group’s Stephenson Campus, has been shortlisted for the BBC's ‘Make a Difference’ awards, following hundreds of nominations.
Patty, who currently teaches English Functional Skills to the college’s Apprenticeship students, has had a long and varied career in teaching, having started in Zimbabwe in 1984.
She went on to teach ESOL at St Matthews in Leicester, a Somali Resource Centre through which she taught hundreds of Somali and later non-English speaking European students. Over the years, Patty also taught ESOL at DHL East Midlands. She also taught Literacy and Numeracy at Stephenson College, which continues to this day.
Patty then joined the Train to Gain team, where she went into workplaces to teach both Literacy and Numeracy to NVQ learners who did not yet have English and Maths qualifications. From this, she pivoted to teaching Literacy and Numeracy to Apprentices when new rules required them to have Grade C or above in these subjects in order to pass their apprenticeship.
Siobhán Howard, Head of Maths and English at SMB College Group, said ‘This is an incredibly well-deserved nomination for a kind, caring, student-centred and hard-working colleague. All of us here at the college are incredibly proud.’
Patty’s students have also been praising her for her approach to teaching, with Owen Voce, HGV Apprentice, saying ‘I would like to say a huge thank you to my English functional skills teacher Patty as I've always had a hard time understanding English throughout my 5 years of secondary school; I came into Patty's English group expecting it to be another week of not understanding it. It turns out that Patty knew what to say and how to say it so that everything started to make sense. So, for the first time in 5/6 years I actually have faith that I have a chance to pass English with more than a 4. So, I would just like to say again a big thank you to her for giving me more and more confidence each day and believing in me.’
Jack Gardner, Carpentry and Joinery Apprentice, added ‘I'm 18 and had to re-sit my English for my apprenticeship. I did not want to do it until I met Patty. Patty is not your average teacher, she makes you feel less stressed and less anxious about the exam.’
The ‘Make a Difference’ awards evening taking place on 1st September at The Curve in Leicester, followed by a breakfast feature with the winner at BBC Radio Leicester on 2nd September.
SMB College Group is a Further Education college with three campuses across Leicestershire: Stephenson, Melton and Brooksby. The college offers a wide range of Apprenticeships and full-time college courses for learners aged 16+, alongside which many students re-sit Maths and English GCSEs, or undertake Functional Skills. The college also offers Adult learning opportunities in Maths and English at the Stephenson Campus in Coalville.
There’s still time to apply to study at any campus starting September 2025. Apply now or register for an open day at www.smbcollegegroup.ac.uk.