Majid Ahmed wins battle to go to medical school
Inside’n’ Out Magazine covered the story of Majid Ahmed rejection by Imperial College after declaring a spent conviction for a small part in a burglary when he was aged 16. Read the original article
Now the straight-A student has been granted a place at Manchester University School of Medicine in September after a year-long battle of appeals against Imperial College and the university.
The General Medical Council has confirmed that people can still become doctors if they have a criminal record. Doctors have to fill in a declaration of fitness to practise as part of their application for provisional registration. A candidate could be barred if they were thought to pose a risk, but evidence including references would be considered.
Ahmed estimated that he had spent 200 hours scouring university appeals procedures, writing letters and talking to MPs to overturn his rejection.
He said: “If someone really wants to move on from their life and move away from their past they can. Some people will try to prevent them from achieving their dreams but they must find a way to ignore this.”
Inside ‘n’ Out Magazine congratulates Majid Ahmed and commends his determination and attitude.
Read the full Guardian article
Prisoners’ real life stories
Three ex-prison inmates, and users of Futures Unlocked’s mentoring and support services, tell their experiences of the challenges they have faced.
Many inmates want a new life when on the outside after release prison. They want to start again, make a new beginning for themselves and their families and put something back into community.
The reality is that however positive they are inside, living a crime-free life after prison can be difficult.
Click here to read about Danny, Lee and Mike’s experiences
Prison art and the Koestler Trust
They are the UK’s best-known prison arts charity. They award, exhibit and sell artworks by offenders, detainees and high security patients.
The Koestler Trust’s aims are:
- to help offenders lead more positive lives by motivating them to participate in the creative arts;
- to demonstrate the power of arts activity in the criminal justice system.
The Koestler Awards attract around 5,000 entries a year from inmates of prisons, young offender institutions, secure hospitals and immigration removal centres across the UK, as well as offenders supervised by probation and youth offending services.
Need for steed – A volunteer’s story
Mark Bosworth careers towards the camera at full throttle, a manic grin on his face and a gleam in his eye. At the last minute he puts in a sharp left turn and comes to sudden halt displaying the proud profile of his throbbing machine.
But no – it’s not a super-charged 300cc super-bike. It’s an electric scooter, complete with shopping bags and basket. Has Mark taken to stealing mobility carts from the disabled to bring terror to the pavements? No – he’s simply testing the functions of Scooter No. 49, following a recent re-fit, checking for road (or more-likely pavement) worthiness, before handing it out to one of MobilityShop’s grateful clients.
The manageress has been running MobilityShop for eight years. “Does it work?” she asks. “It’s perfect”, Mark says, bounding into the office. “I was practicing pirouettes on the car park.”
Mark has been doing voluntary work with MobilityShop for 2 months. Now 4 months into a year-long license period, he’s pleased to have found a placement where he can useful and support the needs of people in the community.
“It’s great to be working in a team again” he says, “and know what I’m doing is being valued by a lot of people.”
MobilityShop has two outlets – one in HighCross car park level 2, one next to the Haymarket centre and the bus station. The manageress is the only paid employee but along with her small army of volunteers the organization lends out between 20 & 40 scooter and wheelchairs a day to those with physical disabilities or walking difficulties, who find them invaluable for doing their weekly shop.
“I’d be lost without this service,” says Louise Robinson, who comes by twice a week to use Scooter 47 – a green three-wheeler with a vigorous cornering action. “It’s even better when I come in to Mark’s smiling face.”
Mark has plenty of reason to be cheerful – “It’s varied and interesting work,” he says, “and the customer service side is a real buzz for me – getting to know who likes which scooter, when they’ll be by, and making the vehicle ready for them. I get to chat with them about their day-to-day lives, and if it gets quiet (which is rare) there’s always the entertainment of checking repaired vehicles out.” “You mean practicing pirouettes,” the manageress jokes with him.
The pleasure Mark takes in his volunteering is clear to see and is a contrast to his early days out on license. “After the first few days of enjoying my freedom, I started getting fed up in the day, when everyone else was at work. Evenings are fine – I have a bar job and see friends. But in the day I knew I had a choice – sit on my arse, make trouble or make a contribution.”
The manageress was pleased to give Mark the chance to pick the latter. She interviewed him (including a discussion of his offense, attitude to it and receipt of a disclosure letter), gave him a few days trial and found him reliable and trustworthy. She’s always on the lookout for more helpful hands like his.
Mark found out about MobilityShop through Voluntary Action Leicester, whose folders list hundreds of such opportunities to make a difference and whose staff can direct the willing and eager to organizations suiting their interest.
Mark would “highly recommend” seeing what the voluntary path has to offer. “You can get busy and useful quickly, and meet new and friendly people.” He’s also looking forward to the social evening next week, where volunteers will be thanked and rewarded for their work. “Tonight dinner and drinks are complimentary – for all the volunteers and their hard work. They’ve certainly earned it!”
Reporter: Andy Thomas
Action for Prisoner’s Families
APF is the national membership organisation representing the needs of organisations working with families of prisoners across England and Wales.
They represent the views and experiences of their members – organisations providing direct services to the families of people in prison – as well as of families themselves. They support the development of new and existing services, promote good practice on working with prisoners, their children and families both in prison and in the community, publish information, influence policy and raise awareness of the impact of imprisonment on children and families.
Action for Prisoner’s Families
Futures Unlocked
For many of the inmates a new life is wanted on the outside of a prison. They want to start again, make a new life for themselves and their families and put something back into community.
The reality is that however positive they are inside, the chances of living a crime-free life can be difficult.
The challenges are immense. Friends, family, society are expecting them to fail.
We have a different approach as we want them to succeed in life, staying crime free, drug free, and living a life to be proud of.
The challenges on leaving prison
Moving on after a jail sentence can be difficult – moving away from offending behaviour, securing housing and finding work can all be challenges.
The BBC Special Reports – In Depth Prisons in the UK had an article covering the subject of leaving prison and re-entering society.
Glen Parva extension plans
Glen Parva Young Offenders Institute in Leicestershire is inviting residents to come and find out more about plans to extend the prison.
Glen Parva currently houses about 800 young offenders, up to the age of 18.
Leaflets have been delivered to nearby residents, outlining plans to extend the site to accommodate a further 360 young offenders.
Public exhibitions are being held this week at the Memorial Hall on Dorothy Avenue in Glen Parva for residents.