Annual Newark Rotary Clubs’ Awards of Courage held at Newark Showground to celebrate the town’s young people.
Nine young people from the area were recognised for their bravery and hard work at an awards ceremony.
The Rotary Clubs of Newark and Newark Castle held its annual Awards for Courage event at the Newark Showground yesterday (March 16).
Nine young people from Newark Orchard School, The Suthers School, Magnus Church of England Academy, Air and Space Institute, Newark College, Tuxford Academy and Newark Academy received the accolade.
The ceremony has been held since 2012, and this year, the awards were presented to Lillie-Mae Hutchinson and Harry Whaley-Holmes of Newark Orchard School; Zara Bryan and Max Desantis of The Suthers School; James Watson of Magnus Church of England Academy; Ellis Hodnett of Air and Space Institute; Cassie Glaves of Newark College; Connie Adams of Tuxford Academy and Leah Brooks of Newark Academy.
The awards were presented by district governor Philip Wilbourn, and the ceremony was led by Rotarian Jim Wishart.
Also in attendance were Newark town mayor Diane Ledger and Newark and Sherwood District Council chairman Jean Hall.
The first presentation was made to Lillie-Mae, who was nominated by Kelly Jones for her ‘incredible’ resilience when she had to undergo an operation after suffering from scoliosis for many years.
She showed patience when the operation was postponed several times and determination to get up and get moving once it was completed.
Kelly said: “Lillie-Mae is an exceptionally kind and happy young person who has never lost her smile even through what has been quite a difficult year.
“Her determination has been an example to us all, she has always been an inspiration and has shown us that determination and being positive go a long way in helping with recovery.”
Lillie-Mae is set to leave Orchard School at the end of the school year and will be heading to Portland College to continue her education.
Next to receive his award was Harry Whaley-Holmes, who was also nominated by Kelly Jones.
Harry has had numerous operations over the years, however he was said to never let it interfere either with his happy nature or with his love of learning.
Kelly said that Harry has left an impact not only on all members of staff but the students too, and that he will be missed when he leaves the school in July.
Harry, who was described as always going to school with a smile and not letting anything stop him from what he wants to do said: “I am proud of winning this award and very happy to be here today (March 17).
“It is very nice to see all the hard work I put into it being recognised.”
Zara Bryan was nominated by associate school leader of the Suthers School Wendy Redmond, due to her ‘great’ resilience and courage to overcome chronic anxiety after being subject to online bullying which included inappropriate material being distributed to her friends.
Zara worked closely with the police to help identify who and where the material came from and is still working to rebuild her self-confidence.
Zara said: “I was a bit surprised because I didn’t think I was going to get it.
“There are a lot of people who have gone through similar situations as me but it doesn’t get recognised because no one talks about it and now I have been recognised so it feels really good.
“The main reason I still did well at school was because the working part was my escapism because it would distract my mind.
“To people going through similar situations, I would like to tell them that it feels bad now but it does improve over time and you just have to be patient about it.”
The fourth nomination was Max Desantis, who lost his battle with cancer in October 2024.
Max was nominated by Wendy Redmond, who wanted to recognise the vibrant Year Eight pupil and the way he touched everyone’s hearts at the school.
He was said to have a passion for trains, which he showed through his YouTube channel.
“Despite his illness, he had an infectious smile and a positive spirit that brought joy to all those who knew him.
“He leaves a long-lasting legacy of kindness and curiosity, which fully embody our tenacity, optimism, respect, curiosity and hard work characteristics at the school.
“I am accepting this award on behalf of his parents.”
The fifth recipient was James Watson, who was nominated by Rebecca Brown.
James suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and despite being in a wheelchair, he has been seen playing football at break times while in the chair.
Mrs Brown said: “He has an infectious personality and you very rarely see him without a smile on his face, a true testament not only to James but to his parents who encourage and support him.”
He joined the school from William Gladstone Primary School in September 2019 and was said to have embraced the mainstream secondary school from day one as he made friendships with a large group.
He was surprised by his parents and teachers as he only found out about the award on the same day as the ceremony.
His mother, Theresa Watson said: “I am sure he is really over the moon.
“It was good to see his smile and we went to get the award, it showed that he is proud of himself.”
The sixth award was named Ellis Hodnett, who was nominated by Lynn Baker, however, the pupil wasn’t present due to illness.
Ellis was commended for having worked diligently and consistently to improve his GCSE English Language grade in the run-up to the November re-sit exams.
His mother has a life-threatening illness, which means his timetable has to be adapted as he can’t go to school in the morning.
Despite his family situation, Ellis was said to have huge reserves of resilience and is continuing to work hard to make his family proud and achieve the grades ‘he so rightly deserves’.
Cassie Glaves, who started at Newark College in September 2024 was also nominated by Lynn Baker.
When she first joined the college, she didn’t speak since her secondary school exam season in March 2023 due to her functional neurological disorder.
“Since being at Newark College the change has been remarkable and Cassie has found the confidence to push herself and actually be very vocal and engaging and entertaining and talkative in not just my lesson, but with everybody she comes in contact with,” said Lynn.
She added: “I am so proud of the journey she’s been with ones and can’t wait to see what she does in the future.”
When she first joined the college, she found the lessons to be quite loud and overwhelming and had problems concentrating, however with her perseverance and the help of Learning Support she slowly gained her confidence back.
Cassie said: “Honestly I did not know it even existed until my tutor told me.
“I was very surprised to receive it.
“I couldn’t speak for 18 months, it was the exam season when I was in secondary school.
“I feel a whole lot more free, I get more of an opinion as I can tell people how I feel now.”
The eighth award was given to Connie Adams, who was nominated by Emily Teece.
The 16-year-old was said to have had a tough couple of years as she struggled with her mental health, and last year was said she needed major surgery on her hip and might not be able to dance again.
After the surgery, she was away from school for several weeks and then contracted viral meningitis which pushed her recovery backwards.
The medication she was given caused further problems as it made her stomach bleed. Adding to Connie’s stress, her family home was broken into and the cars were stolen as she attempted to recover.
Emily said: “Despite everything, Connie has continued to push herself and managed to complete her mocks.
“She is a remarkable young lady and deserves all the praise for her resilience and courage.”
Connie said she was surprised to receive the award and that she was proud of herself.
Her mother, Naomi Adams added: “The teachers and the schools know the people and how much they have gone through and her teachers have been very supportive.”
The final Leah Brooks was nominated by Claire Kent and the youngster was described as going from being a real firecracker exploding around the building to being transformed into a wonderful polite young lady.
Leah, who has an ADHD diagnosis, has had a rollercoaster journey at Newark Academy, with many ups and downs.
Claire said she nominated Leah as she doesn’t realise how ‘absolutely amazing’ she is and that she is very proud of her and to witness her development at the academy.
In September this year, Leah will be going to Lincoln College, where she will train to become a teaching assistant.
Leah said: “I used to think all the teachers were against me and it took me a while to realise that they only wanted the best for me.
“When I thought teachers didn’t understand me, I wanted to be a teacher assistant to people who knew that I was there for them.
“I feel like people need to be experienced to know what someone is going through, you can’t just go to a school place and learn it, it is better if you know it from your own experience and I look forward to supporting others.”
The district governor Philip Wilbourn, who was handing out the awards, highlighted the school’s and teachers’ work in bringing up such bright and inspiring students.
He said: “You are the difference and you make a difference so thank you schools and thank you teachers for these outstanding candidates and all the work you do.”
Jayne Mason, the president of Newark Castle Rotary Club, has been involved in the event committee for around seven years and claims that the awards ceremony is her favourite event.
She said: “It is just so lovely for the children to be recognised, you see the smiles on their faces and it’s just so deserving.
“I find it a very emotional event and I love to make them feel good about themselves when they have been through quite a lot in their short lives.”
Newark town mayor Diane Ledger added: “It is really inspiring and emotional. As a mum and knowing the hardships children can go through, the fact that they are still learning and doing everything that they want to do and for their courage, I just think it is amazing.
“I have known one of the nominees since she was a baby and it is just lovely to see her here because I know exactly what she has been going through.
“So a big thanks to the Rotary club for actually doing these awards.”
