First-class effort gains Hamzah a USA scholarship

May 20 2009 by Richard Mooney, Wishaw Press

COLTNESS High School pupil Hamzah Iqbal is one of eight pupils from the United Kingdom to have been selected for a prestigious summer scholarship programme in America.

Hamzah (18), applied for the Fulbright Scholarship on the advice of teacher Josephine MacNally.

The scholarship will take place over five weeks, starting in July, in either Boston or Philadelphia. Hamzah will study American culture, leadership skills and presentation methodology.

Set up in 1948, the US-UK Fulbright Commission is a bi-national transatlantic academic awards programme.

Notable alumni of the programme include politician Charles Kennedy, actor John Lithgow and writer Ian Rankin.

Hamzah said: “It’s an amazing experience and I am going to do my best. I am hoping to learn as much as I can while I am over there and take in a lot of the American culture.

“I’m also looking forward to getting to know the other European students.

“I think it’s a great accomplishment, not just for me but for everyone at the school, to be able to have amazing opportunities like this.”

Miss MacNally said: “Hamzah will be in an elite group of students this summer from all over Europe.

“Coltness High School has had some bad press recently and people get the wrong impression of the school. We support all our children in achieving things to the best of their ability.

“A few years ago we had a pupil who went out to the space school in Houston, Texas, because of the hard work which goes on behind the scenes in this school. We have a lot of projects going on in Jordanhill Campus of Strathclyde University as well.

“I wish Hamzah all the best. He truly deserves this because of the hard work he put into this on his own initiative.

“He will be a positive role model for pupils, this area and the whole of Scotland.”

After his scholarship visit, Hamzah will return home and will tell Coltness pupils of his experience.

He is going on to study civil engineering at Strathclyde University.

He added: “This is an extremely positive thing, not only for me but for the school and areas as well.

“There are a lot of good things happening at the school. We have some really great teachers here.

“I hope this will show everyone at Coltness that it is possible for anyone to go on and achieve great things.”