Each year, only the district’s finest education establishments, staff and pupils are awarded a gold star in the Herts Advertiser School Awards.
This is your chance to celebrate your school’s hardworking and dedicated members of staff, highlight the achievements of the student body, shout about any innovative projects you have part taken in, and celebrate those unsung heroes without whom our schools would be poorer places.
The winners of this year’s awards will be revealed at a gala evening taking place at Oaklands College on June 22, which will see schools and sponsors come together to celebrate the continuous achievements of educational institutions in St Albans and Harpenden.
Categories for this year’s awards include Teacher of the Year (Primary and Secondary), Pupil of the Year, Sporting Achiever of the Year, School of the Year (Primary and Secondary), Innovation/Project of the Year, Special Recognition Award, Support Staff Member Award and Unsung Hero Award, and we will be focusing on each of these awards in the following weeks.
The Pupil of the Year category is open to any pupil attending primary or secondary school and seeks to recognise their achievements throughout the year. We want to encourage entries from those pupils who have gone beyond the norm when it comes to developing themselves both academically and personally, whether through sheer hard work or just a plucky determination to do better. They’re not necessarily those students who always score perfect A-pluses, but those who have overcome obstacles in order to be the best they possibly can be.
Last year’s winner was Eilidh Dunwoodie from Abbey CE VA Primary School. As a previous student at a private school Eilidh moved to Abbey School in September after she underwent a lot of confusion and conflict, getting ill through stress. She has had to work hard to make new friends but joined the Netball team and school Orchestra and Choir. Now on the school council Eilidh has gone from being a unhappy child with no self confidence to a high achiever winning recognition for her Special Achievements.
In choosing the Sporting Achiever of the Year we are looking for those that have excelled within sport. We want to encourage entries from those pupils who have gone beyond the norm when it comes to developing their sporting performance, whether through sheer hard work or just a plucky determination to do better. They’re not necessarily those students who always score a hat-trick or come first in the 100m, but they are those who might have overcome obstacles in order to be the best they possible can.
The Sporting Achiever for 2015 was Jamie Clarke from The Lea Primary School and Nursery. In October 2014 Year 5 pupil Jamie decided to set a challenge to swim one mile to support a family fundraising initiative. At this time Jamie could only swim around 250 metres. Through his determination and training, four months later and on his 10th birthday Jamie completed the mile in just over an hour. He also managed to raise over £3,500 towards £40,000 life-changing treatment needed by his Auntie Lucy.
The awards evening will be presented and broadcast as part of Radio Verulam’s The Parents Show.
The deadline for nominations is Friday May 27 at 5pm. Click here for details on how to nominate.
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