Award winner Robert hails York College for helping him on academic pathway to Cambridge
Former A Level student Robert Ives has spoken about how York College gave him the confidence to realise his potential, after being presented with the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation’s Achievement in Education Award for 2025.
Rob, 28, received the prestigious honour at a ceremony held earlier this month at Leeds United Football Club’s Centenary Pavilion.
The award recognises a remarkable post-16 educational journey that has taken him from Sim Balk Lane to his current position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.
Rob left York College in 2015 with A grades in A Level Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, along with an AS Level in Physics and an A* for his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which focussed on Cancer Epidemiology.
The EPQ marked his first real experience of conducting a research project and helped ignite a curiosity that has shaped the direction of his studies and career over the last decade.
He was also the first person in his family to attend university – an ambition he credits York College, and in particular former Head of Mathematics Miggy Biller MBE, with helping him believe he could achieve.
After college, he completed a four-year Master of Chemistry (MChem) degree in Chemistry at the University of York, before progressing on to a four-year PhD in Organic & Supramolecular Chemistry at Durham University.
Now nearing the end of the first year in his role at the Department of Biochemistry in Cambridge, Rob admits he felt humbled to receive the award and was proud to highlight the role York College played in shaping his academic path.
“I’m the first person in my family to go to university, so being able to represent Yorkshire after moving away and continuing to progress in my career is quite humbling,” he said. “I grew up and went to school in Howden, where high achievers were encouraged to consider York College because it offered a taste of what university life would be like – through the interaction with tutors and the style of teaching.
"That really appealed to me, as I was always set on going to university, and the College felt like the ideal environment for what I wanted to achieve.”
He added: “My time at York College was incredibly enjoyable. The tutors were hugely supportive of my focus and ambition.
“As somebody without an educational role model, I always aimed to gain admission into one of the UK’s highest-ranked universities, and that ambition was strengthened and supported by my tutors. The structure of the A Level courses and the standard of teaching were outstanding – the reinforcement and exam preparation, and even the mutual respect between tutors and students made a huge difference.”
Rob also credits his Mathematics teacher, Miggy Biller MBE, with supporting his aspirations. “Miggy was instrumental in helping me aim high,” he said. “She was the Oxbridge co-ordinator at the time and supported me through the application process.
“I was interviewed at Oxford to study Chemistry, which was an invaluable experience, even though I wasn’t offered a place. That rejection was difficult to take, but everything is a learning experience – it’s better to try and fail than never try. Honestly, I didn’t think about Oxbridge again for nearly 10 years until the right opportunity at Cambridge came along.”
The EPQ remains a great opportunity that is still offered at York College for students to pursue an area of special interest and take their studies to a deeper level.
It is worth half an A Level and up to 28 UCAS points, with learners normally needing predicted grades of B or higher by the end of their first year to progress onto the qualification.
Rob’s EPQ remains a formative part of his academic story. “It was the first independent research project I ever undertook” he recalled. “I don’t know if every College offers the EQP, but it was extremely well run at York College.
“I found it exciting to have the freedom to study something outside of the traditional exam courses. At the time, several of my family members had been affected by cancer, so I had a real curiosity about the subject and wanted to understand more.”
During his undergraduate studies, Rob’s interest in research deepened further when he spent time in Prague at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
“That was my first experience of real laboratory research,” he said. “I enjoyed it immensely and quickly realised the potential for genuine job satisfaction.
“Research can be intense because it demands a constant flow of self-motivation. But it’s also incredibly rewarding.
“What I enjoy most is that strange, exhilarating moment when you realise you’re the first person to discover something. I enjoy pushing the boundaries of what we know and then seeing how those discoveries can be translated into something that genuinely benefits society.”
At Cambridge, Rob is currently part of a research group focusing on the synthesis of lipids and phospholipids, aiming to understand how their chemical complexity influences supramolecular assembly and physical behaviour.
As a postdoctoral research associate, he also mentors students, guiding them through their laboratory projects.
“I really enjoy using my experience to help the next generation learn how to think about chemistry and how to do research,” he said. “I hope I can inspire them to push themselves further in their own careers.”
As a postdoctoral affiliate of Trinity College, Rob also appreciates the wider University experience, from attending formal halls to taking part in seasonal events.
Staying connected to his roots, he was most recently Chair of the Society of Chemical Industry’s Yorkshire & Humber Group and sits on SCI’s Careers and Membership Governance committees.
His contributions to the organisation were recognised this year when he received SCI’s Early Career Award for 2025.
Looking ahead, Rob remains open-minded but ambitious.
“Ideally, I’d like to stay in academia and work my way up to a more senior role within the chemical sciences,” he reflected. “I’m not naive about the challenges of reaching that level, but I’m excited to see where the next few years of research will take me.”
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