The Best Guide for the Sudbury Area

Thomas Gainsborough School sweep the board in Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen Awards

Catherine Bramhald, winner of the Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen of the Year 2014 challenge shield, pictured with Sudbury Town Mayor, Adrian Osborne, Rotary Club presidents Val Tyrrell and Lynda Sebbage, and Patricia Blair, manager of Sudbury Waitrose       Pictures: Laraine Green

Top students at Thomas Gainsborough School sweep the board in 2014 Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen Awards

Catherine Bramhald, 18-year-old Head Girl at Great Cornard’s Thomas Gainsborough School scooped the top prize at this year’s Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen of the Year Awards, winning praise from her nominator and the judges for being “an excellent role model in the school and the community.”

Catherine, who lives at Leavenheath, was nominated for the awards by teacher Carmel Bavington, who was there to see her receive the Young Citizen Challenge Trophy at a presentation evening held at a joint meeting of Sudbury’s two Rotary Clubs at Newton Green Golf Club on Monday (24 March).

Carmel also proudly watched as another of her nominations gained first prize in the team awards for Thomas Gainsborough School’s Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl, William Nicholson (15) and Brooke Wright (13).

These Year 11 students have held these top posts for two years, becoming the school’s first ever Deputy Head Boy and Girl, the highest office bestowed on lower school students, and then re-elected by their fellow students to serve a second year.

Catherine won particular praise for her leadership and mentoring of younger students, and the way she introduced them to ways they can support those in need in the wider community. Catherine led a group of students on a visit to Sudbury’s Age UK Chilton Centre to distribute hampers, filled with food and other gifts collected and packed as part of the school’s 2013 Operation Christmas Appeal, winning a special accolade from Jilly Vince, manager of the Centre for elderly people suffering from dementia. She also took students to visit one of the local foodbanks, so that they could see how their efforts are helping to alleviate need among some of the most vulnerable citizens.

This is the sixth year of the Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen of the Year Awards, sponsored and supported by the Suffolk Free Press and Waitrose, and endorsed by Lord Phillips of Sudbury, president of the Citizenship Foundation.

“I commend Sudbury’s two Rotary Clubs for organising these awards which celebrate so much of the good that is achieved by our young people,” said Lord Phillips.

As the overall individual winner, Catherine received the Sudbury Rotary Young Citizen Challenge Shield, medal, certificate and £100. She has also been put forward for the national Rotary Young Citizen Awards, with a chance to win £500 for her chosen charity.

In addition to the top individual and team awards, presentations of medals and certificates were also made on Monday to a total of 19 young people nominated by teachers and those who work with them in charities.

Second place in the individual awards went to 14-year-old Gemma Marsh, of Leavenheath, a Year 9 student at Ormiston Sudbury Academy, nominated by Adrian Starkey, head of Rosa Parks House, for her untiring charitable fundraising efforts. Gemma’s fundraising began when she raised money for a church charity in 2008, at 11 she took part in a sponsored swim to raise money to help a life-saving club teach more children to swim, and more recently she has used her baking skills to raise hundreds of pounds for Children in Need and Comic Relief.

All the YCA nominees and their awards, pictured after the presentations at Newton Green Golf Club

YCA 2

Third prize went to 11-year-old Lily Skeggs of Bures, who joined Thomas Gainsborough School in September 2013 and was nominated by teacher Carmel Bavington. Lily was born with a serious heart condition, requiring many surgical interventions, including open heart surgery at just 8 months.

Despite her medical problems, Lily “has shown tenacity and courage and is the captain of the fundraising ‘Team Lily’ proactively and energetically contributing to and taking part in events,” said Carmel. Her charitable efforts have helped purchase DVD players, toys and games for the children on Rose Ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital, which specialises in children with heart and lung conditions. She has also maintained a 100% attendance record at school.

Certificates of commendation were awarded to: Sian Lawson and Jack Ingram, both 15 years old from Acton, nominated by Jack Owen, Chairman of Helping Hands, the charity supporting those adults with learning disabilities attending Sudbury’s Community Hub; Edward Russell, 17, from Cavendish, nominated by teacher Adrian Starkey for his role in leading the Ormiston Sudbury Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Appeal in 2013; William Rawden, 15, from Great Cornard, nominated by teacher Tracey Welsh for his work in supporting the Theatre technical crew at Thomas Gainsborough School, volunteering to assist with after school events and as a budding entrepreneur with his own disco providing a service to the school and the wider community.

Second prize in the team awards went to the five-members of the Helping Hands Youth Committee, nominated by the charity’s chairman Jack Owen. Led by Chloe Lock, 19, of Great Cornard, who works for Ipswich Building Society, the team comprises: Sian Lawson and Jack Ingram, both 15 from Acton, Jess Crago (16) who attends Stoke by Clare College and Luke Cresswell (25) a Youth Worker and trainee teacher. They were nominated for the way they have worked together to fundraise and support the main Helping Hands charity, organising events themselves and meeting regularly since being formed early in 2013.

The team third prize winners were the Scout Young Leaders, Angel Richardson (14), Ethan Barrett (15) and Beth Stenson (16), who have secured three of the prized 36 Suffolk team places to attend the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan in July 2015. Nominated by Tracey Welsh, the trio have already achieved many challenges within scouting, and are now committed to each raising the entire cost of their jamboree experience of £3,300.

A Certificate of commendation was awarded to the Editorial Team for the Thomas Gainsborough School newsletter - Jack Harman, Eartha MacGibbon Harold, Aaron Bennett, William Rawden and Rhiannon Merryweather. They were nominated by Carmel Bavington who described them as “multi-talented individuals who work well together as a team, bringing us their creative talents and technical skills.

The awards to all the Young Citizen nominees were presented by the Presidents of the two Rotary Clubs, Val Tyrrell for Talbot Rotary and Lynda Sebbage for Sudbury Rotary. They each received a medal to mark their achievement, a certificate which was also signed by Lord Phillips of Sudbury, and cash prizes. Medals were provided by Waitrose while the Rotary Clubs funded the cash prizes and awards evening. The presentation evening was attended by all the nominees, their parents, nominators and members of both Rotary Clubs, plus representatives from Rotary District 1080, which covers more than 70 clubs across three counties.

  2014 Sudbury YCA team winners, William Nicholson and Brooke Wright, with Rotary presidents

Report this article as inappropriate

Comments

You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.