Derbyshire schoolchildren who have been superstars in many ways – raising money for cancer charities, winning national sporting awards, or doing their best to help others when no-one is watching – have been recognised for their achievements at a glittering ceremony by Embark Federation, with the help of a real life Giant!
Jamie Christian-Johal, better known as “Giant” from hit British TV show Gladiators, was just one of a starry line-up who turned out to help 150 Derbyshire children from Embark Federation schools be recognised for their achievements in and out of the classroom.
Sponsored by Opogo Education, the Embark Federation Awards saw “Giant” help hand out awards which were divided into six categories: Family, Integrity, Teamwork, Success, Community Stand-out and Special Award. Joining Giant on the presentation stage was education entrepreneur Baasit Siddiqui, of Gogglebox fame.
Also helping make the evening special was actor Kristian Cunningham, Olivia Birchenough, well known to parents for her work on Milkshake TV, Diversity dancer – and Aldercar High alumnus – Kelvin Clark, musical theatre actors Cara Dudgeon, Tom Hopcroft, and Sam Hedley, along with dog owner Nicci Hindson who brought along her Crufts champion Collie Elsa.
During an evening packed with stars, it was the incredible achievements of the young people that stole the show.
Embark Federation Trust Leader Matt Crawford said: “This was our fifth annual Embark Federation awards night and it’s always a very special celebration. We are privileged to educate over 7,000 children across our Embark family and the 150 young people that have been celebrated tonight from our 21 schools have been selected to receive one of these special awards and the recognition is well deserved.
“Children have been chosen to receive an award for doing some incredible activities in the community. We are proud of them and we’re proud that they are in our Embark Federation schools.
“It’s very important to us at Embark that our schools stand out in their communities and the children who have received these awards have all helped them do just that. Our core beliefs as a trust are Family, Integrity, Teamwork and Success and we want everyone to “Love Learning, Love Life” – these awards are all about just that.
“We really wanted to make the evening special and we’re so grateful to all our guests who have come along and made this a night to remember for our hard-working children and their families. Not every child gets to go and see a West End show, for example, so we thought we’d bring a touch of magic to them and we’re delighted to have been able to put on such a spectacular evening.”
Children were recognised for a wide range of achievements including raising money for cancer charities; having haircuts and giving money to the Little Princess Trust and donating to a local soup kitchen. One child raised £269 for Treetops by selling cakes outside his grandma’s house, while another made a collage of her local area which is now being publicly exhibited.
Some school pupils have excelled through sport, winning plaudits for a wide range of activities including Brazilian jiu-jitzu, dodgeball and ice skating.
Other children were nominated by teachers for showing entrepreneurial spirit by hosting “scare room events” for charity, while there was also recognition for showing a great attitude and having beautiful manners at school.
Embark Secondary Schools formally joined the awards evening for the first time this year, with some fantastic nominations that exemplified the trust’s values. A group had presented the Chesterfield Town Board with a costed 5-year improvement plan, and there were lots of examples of young people from nursery school through to sixth form showing incredible resilience and positivity.
There were some emotional stories, with the audience hearing how young children had stepped up to look after family members and make a positive difference in other ways following a bereavement and other tough circumstances.
Nicky Shore, whose son Freddie – a pupil at Aldercar High – was given a “Success” award for being the current British and European record holder for deadlifting, said she was “incredibly proud” of him, and her other son Charlie.
She said: “It shows that the school, trust and the education system are interested in what he does outside of school as well. That’s really good.”
The “Giant”, who presented the “Success” award, said he felt honoured to have been asked to help Embark Federation present its annual awards.
He told the room: “Gladiators has been fantastic – a childhood dream come true. It just shows that if you do work hard as children, dreams do come true.”
Embark Federation is a family of 21 primary and secondary schools across Derbyshire from Buxton in the north to Swadlincote in the south.
This story was written and shared on behalf of Embark Federation by Lucy Stephens. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
