A DUKINFIELD man was left stunned when he was told the notification of an honour was genuine – and not a scam.
Christopher Ashworth received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the new year’s list for his services to further education.
But the head of estates for the Stamford Park Trust, comprised of Ashton Sixth Form College, Rayner Stephens High School and Longdendale High School, admits he had his doubts.
The first people he contacted when the e-mail dropped into his inbox in November was his IT department!
“I was at work when I got the email and I’d just done my cyber safety training,” said the 41-year-old, who lives on Concord Way.
“It said it was from the Cabinet Office and came with an attachment, so I thought, ‘It looks dodgy that.’
“I forwarded on to the IT team to see if it was legit. After waiting 30-45 minutes, they came back and said, ‘It seems pretty legit. Do you want to phone the number on it?’
“I phoned it and this lovely lady answered. I said, ‘Excuse me, I’ve received this e-mail. Is it a scam?’
“She just started laughing and said, ‘No it’s not. We’ve had to do it via e-mail. We did do letters to send out but with all the strikes going on, we weren’t sure whether they’d get there in time.
“So we asked all the people to reply back via email.”
The British Empire Medal is an award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown.
Chris was nominated for a BEM by his colleagues at Ashton Sixth Form College for his outstanding contribution to the college and the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was on site every day of the lockdowns, making sure that the site was secure.
Once decisions were made about our return to work, he single-handedly sourced the required PPE and cleaning equipment and worked tirelessly with one other member of his team to make the necessary changes to classrooms, removing furniture and reconfiguring classroom layouts to meet requirements.
“I made sure the college was safe,” he added. “That meant getting everything in, even taking deliveries at home as the college was shut!
“I had to make sure the desks were spaced out in the rooms correctly and that sanitiser was there, that every room had Perspex screens in and making sure everything was safe and ready for when pupils came back in.
“It was hard work. Everyone else was on furlough at the time and there was just little old me, plodding along making sure everything was tickety boo.
“But I was just doing my job.”
Alongside this, Chris supported the NHS and local people, assisting wife Leanne, a nurse at Tameside Hospital and the only person he told before it was revealed on New Year’s Eve, to source valuable PPE and helping elderly local residents with shopping and errands alongside his job.
In other times, Chris – who single-handedly saved the college he has worked at for 18 years and now looks after the trust’s three sites with his head of estates title – hundreds of thousands of pounds through the renegotiation of contracts, all of which could them be spent on teaching and learning.
Anton McGrath, CEO of Stamford Park Trust said: “Chris is an outstanding member of staff and fully deserves this recognition for the many years of service he has given to the Trust and to the college.
“This was exemplified by the way he managed the estates and facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. His ‘can-do’ attitude and willingness to find solutions to problems was essential to our successful return.
“On behalf of the members, trustees, members of staff and students across Stamford Park Trust, well done! We’re all immensely proud that you are part of our community.”