Aim for the impossible, urges Tasleema

GUEST of honour Dr Tasleema Begum (centre) with (from the left) Radclyffe head teacher Hardial Hayer, Mayoress Councillor Yasmin Toor, chair of governors Jim Greenwood, Mayor of Oldham Councillor Ateeque ur-Rehman, head girl Leah Metcalfe and head boy Mohsin Khan

A FORMER pupil who has become one of the highest achieving young doctors in the country returned to Radclyffe School to inspire its record-breaking class of 2015.

Dr Tasleema Begum was the guest of honour at the school’s presentation evening at Oldham’s Queen Elizabeth Hall alongside the Mayor, Councillor Atiquee Ur-Rehman.

Dr Begum, a foundation year two doctor in the paediatric department at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, left Radclyffe in 2007 with high grades. She continued her academic success at Oldham Sixth Form College and started medical studies at the University of Manchester in 2009. She gained distinction and honour grades in all her exams and came top of her year group of 400 students and won the Lord Platt prize and academic achievement and excellence awards.

Dr Begum finished medical school in 2014 - top of her academic year - and won the Tom Donaldson prize for outstanding achievement.

During her early career as a doctor she has explored various specialities and attended national conferences for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and the British Maternal and Fetal Society. She hopes to do more work with young people aspiring to get into medical school.

“I was the student who annoyed teachers by always knocking on the door asking questions. I was always asking for more work and not handing in work that was just good enough.

“I was the first to go to university in my family and I had no source of advice. But I made it. You get nowhere without hard work.”

Her advice for current students was to take every opportunity that comes along: “Say yes, then work out how you will do it later. Be ambitious and aim for the impossible,” she added.