Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Eighty-nine-year-old student awarded prize after almost 50 years of German classes
Ken Knapton, who is fluent in German, has kept up the weekly part-time classes because of his love of the language and wish to keep abreast of the country’s politics and current affairs.
He will be awarded the Adela Bond Memorial Prize for Achievement in Modern Foreign Languages next week, during Leeds Beckett’s annual summer graduations. Adela, who passed away in December 2015, was Course Leader of Leeds Beckett’s part-time language programme.
Ken, a former chemical engineer who will turn 90 on New Year’s Eve, has undertaken numerous qualifications and certificates during his student tenure at the University, including a degree in German and a Diploma in Contemporary European Studies.
The grandfather-of-three, said: “I started studying German back in 1968. I’ve always been very interested in European affairs and I’d studied German at school. Before joining, I’d started classes elsewhere, which were good – but really, what I wanted was something that was more current affairs based and that’s when I switched to Leeds Beckett, which at the time was known as Leeds Polytechnic.
“I’ve continued studying German with the University for all of these years, because I enjoy it. And if you don’t keep on top of a language it’s easy to forget things, so I keep at it.”
Ken, who lives in Headingley and used to holiday in Germany and Austria annually, added that the weekly classes were also a social occasion for him, as many of his classmates were also his friends. He has already enrolled for the next academic year’s classes.
When asked how he felt to be given the Adela Bond Memorial Award, he said he was “very surprised” and didn’t “feel deserving of it”.
His current German teacher, Ulrike Hitchen, said: “Ken is a remarkable student. He always does his homework with great commitment, attends every lesson and is brilliant at the language. He has been the expert in the class on German politics and history. I don’t know anybody else who has studied German formally as long as he has – he is an inspiration and is truly deserving of this prize.”
Ricarda Zoellner, who formerly taught Ken at Leeds Beckett, said: “Ken has seen it all since he’s been studying German. He’s been with Leeds Beckett through its predecessor names, he’s been a student of most of the German teachers that the course has had. Not only is his German excellent but his knowledge of German politics and current affairs is incredible. He is so committed to his studies, which is wonderful to see and what every teacher wants in a student.”
Speaking about Adela Bond, Dr Théophile Munyangeyo, a Principal Lecturer in the School of Events, Tourism, Hospitality and Languages at Leeds Beckett, commented: “For more than 25 years of service at Leeds Beckett University, Adela Bond has been in the heart of curriculum developments in Languages, a true champion for language promotion locally and nationally. She led in many ways the transformation of the language landscape at Leeds Beckett University. She contributed actively to the increase of the number of languages to 25, a unique provision in the North of England. The unique selling point was fostering high academic standards of this healthy language provision and linking it with those in the local community who have hopes and dreams of embarking on and engaging with lifelong learning. To be awarded the Adela Bond Memorial Prize is a huge privilege and I can only hope that Ken Knapton will feel and enjoy that pride we hold dearly in the Department of Languages.”