The City Lit Awards celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of various students, tutors and staff from across the college, as well as the transformation adult learning can bring.
Celebrating the City Lit community
We're delighted to announce that nominations for the 2025 City Lit Awards are now open.
This year we are celebrating students, tutors and staff who have gone above and beyond to support our City Lit community. It might be a tutor who delivered outstanding teaching, a student who has excelled on their course or a member of staff who made a real difference to the emotional wellbeing of the students.
Nomination deadline is Monday 30 June 2025.
The winners will be announced during a ceremony at City Lit later this year.
More details will be confirmed nearer the time.
Award categories
- Outstanding Learner Award
- Inspiring Tutor Award
- Staff Recognition Award
- Wellbeing Award
- Project Award
- Jeremy Swain Partner Award
- Dame Esther Rantzen Senior Learner Award
- Excellence in EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Award
Outstanding Learner Award
Do you know a student who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their learning at City Lit? Our students achieve great things – we are seeking nominations for exceptional candidates worthy of an Outstanding Learner Award.
Examples could include inspiring others during classes, realising a personal goal, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to learning, showing initiative to set up a business or community scheme, or someone who has used their course to dramatically change their career or circumstances.
Inspiring Tutor Award
This award recognises a City Lit tutor who has provided a high quality learning experience, demonstrated exceptional knowledge of their subject matter, provided a memorable experience, and helped students to reach their full potential during their online or in-person classes.
Staff Recognition Award
This award recognises a non-teaching member of staff for their contribution to the City Lit community, embodying the spirit of City Lit, and going the extra mile to help colleagues or students with their emotional wellbeing.
Wellbeing Award
We recognise how learning can be hugely significant in contributing to positive wellbeing. We’re looking for nominations for students who have incorporated innovative wellbeing outcomes within their course programmes, or designed courses specifically to contribute to positive wellbeing.
Project Award
This award recognises a group project at City Lit that has reached out to communities, enabled opportunities for online or in-person learning and personal development, or a project that has made a positive contribution to either our students or the wider London community. This category also includes group work by students.
Jeremy Swain Partner Award
This award recognises the outstanding work by a partner for their support or commitment to our students or the wider City Lit community. This can be a charity, employer, organisation or an individual. Named in honour of Jeremy Swain, a City Lit Fellow and long-standing advocate for social justice and inclusion, this award celebrates partnerships that embody the values of collaboration, opportunity, and impact.
Dame Esther Rantzen Senior Learner Award
Do you know a senior student who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to their learning at City Lit? We are seeking nominations for exceptional candidates worthy of a Senior Learner Award. This award is named after Dame Esther Rantzen who has had a long career as a journalist, broadcaster, and relentless campaigner, and became a City Lit Fellow in 2021. This award recognises the value of continuing to learn and gain new skills into older age, it will demonstrate the contribution that many older people make to lifelong learning.
Examples could include realising a personal goal, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to lifelong learning or someone who has transferred their skills across generations.
Excellence in EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Award
This award recognises an individual, team, project, or initiative that has made a significant contribution to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within the City Lit community. We are seeking nominations that demonstrate a commitment to creating a more inclusive learning environment or workplace, breaking down barriers to inclusion, celebrating diverse voices and experiences, or championing underrepresented groups or individuals at risk of marginalisation. This could include innovative teaching practice, support for students or colleagues, community outreach or partnership, inclusive curriculum design, raising awareness of barriers to inclusion and advocating for change, or impactful advocacy work that embodies the values of EDI at City Lit.
Video: City Lit Student Winners
Video: City Lit Tutor Winners
City Lit Awards 2025
Nominate your favourite student, tutor, colleague, partner or project.
Deadline is Monday 30 June 2025.
