A former Amman Valley pupil has scooped a prestigious award for his outstanding contribution in the education sector.

Liam Rahman was named the winner of the International category at the St David Awards in Cardiff on Thursday, March 21.

The award recognises any individual or group from Wales who have made an outstanding contribution internationally and those who have worked tirelessly to improve a community or communities outside of Wales.

The finalists and winners are decided upon by First Minister of the Welsh Government Mark Drakeford and his advisers.

All winners received a St David Awards trophy, designed and made by a leading Welsh artist.

Liam told The Guardian: “I was shocked and speechless when I won the award.

“All the finalists were really impressive.”

As an undergraduate, Liam studied at Yale-NUS College in Singapore and Yale University in the USA majoring in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE).

Liam has also worked in the investment management industry at BW Group and Goldman Sachs and lived in six countries across three continents.

Since returning to Wales in 2017, Liam has continued as a Director of E-Qual Education, a company he co-founded in 2011 now employing over 100 people in Wales.

He is responsible for further developing E-Qual, across Wales and internationally.

Liam, who is currently living in Cardiff, is an avid supporter of The Seren Network, Welsh Government’s flagship initiative to assist pupils to gain places in top universities, for which he mentors students and guides schools to learn more about international opportunities.

In 2018, Liam initiated and established a partnership between The Seren Network and the Yale Young Global Scholars programme at Yale University.

Last summer, 16 Seren students received full scholarships to attend Yale Young Global Scholars.

Liam also raised further sponsorship from his company and others to pay for all the students flights in full.

“This year, the partnership has more than tripled in size to up to 30 Seren students attending Yale Young Global Scholars programme and 23 going to Harvard Summer School,” added the E-Qual director.

“We just want to show that Welsh pupils are up there with the best in the world and that the pupils are doing well.

“There is pressure in the education sector, and we are proving that Welsh pupils are succeeding across the country.”