Katy Finch, PhD Psychology

Having lived in lots of different countries working as an English teacher and having a passion for education and language, Katy Finch now works as a Widening Participation Fellow alongside her studies and won the Manchester Doctoral College Excellence Award 2019/20 for Best Contribution to Society.

University of Manchester PhD student Katy Finch

“Working as a Widening Participation Fellow I had the chance to support lots of projects with primary school children", says Katy. "I have also been able to promote my own interest in multilingualism through running workshops and contributed to the ESOL Stepping Stones Project, making English language resources for newly arrived mothers and their babies.”

Katy has worked with local communities on multiple projects, including widening participation initiatives, improving engagement with literacy for disadvantaged children and increasing understanding of multilingualism.

“Although I am no longer a teacher, education and language still interest me and I think seeing how academic research can link to the real world is really important.”

Katy Finch / PhD Psychology

“Katy’s made an outstanding contribution to society during the past 4-5 years," says Professor Anna Theakston, Co-Director, ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD) at The Universities of Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster.

"From literacy projects with minority and disadvantaged primary-school children, to multiple widening participation initiatives, to language interventions for non-English speaking families, she’s worked with parents, teachers and children to benefit our local community and beyond. She’s a huge inspiration to all of us!”

Katy now works for AQA (the exam board) as a researcher, investigating lots of different aspects of assessment and education.