A specialist college head from Hanwell has completed the London Marathon, raising more than £2,000 for autistic children and young people.
The London Marathon took place on Sunday (26 April 2026), when Nicola Hawkins, head of Ambitious College, finished the 26.2-mile course in five hours and 45 minutes.
Ms Hawkins, 44, has worked for Ambitious about Autism for 10 years and became head of the college in August 2024. The college supports autistic young people aged 16 to 25 and has a campus based at West Thames College in Isleworth.
She said: “Training is going well, and I recently completed an 18-mile run. Even so, the enormity of the challenge ahead has started to dawn on me, but luckily there will be lots of people there cheering me on along the way.”
Danae Leaman-Hill, director of external affairs at Ambitious about Autism, said: “Nicola is a tireless advocate for autistic children and young people and is truly dedicated to ensuring they can realise their ambitions. The funds and awareness Nicola has raised by taking on this challenge will make an enormous difference to lives.”
