Awards for Courage 2024

Pictured above from L to R: Bob Hattersley, President of Newark Castle Rotary Club; Scarlett Hardy; Alex Almeida; Emily Carr; Anna Hibbard; Dexter Hibbard; Skyélett Garthwaite; Richard Vergette, District Governor (photograph by Newark Advertiser)

The Rotary Clubs of Newark and Newark Castle held their annual Awards for Courage event at Newark Showground on Monday 18th March 2024. As in previous years local schools were asked to nominate young people to receive the award. 

The Awards for Courage event has been held since 2012, and this year the awards were presented to:

• Emily Carr of Newark Orchard School
• Anna and Dexter Hibbard of Tuxford Academy
• Skyélett Garthwaite of Suthers School
• Scarlett Hardy of Newark Academy
• Alex Almeida of Newark College.

The awards were presented by district governor Richard Vergette, the ceremony led by Rotarian Mac Mallard with closing words from Jim Wishart. Also in attendance were deputy mayor Diane Ledger, Newark and Sherwood District Council vice-chairman Jean Hall, Councillor Sue Saddington, Balderton Parish Council chairman Jane Buxton and Rotary club presidents Robert Hattersley and Jim Wishart.

The Rotary Clubs of Newark and Newark Castle would also like to thank all of the sponsors for their generosity in supporting this worthy event and their attendance on the day. The event sponsors for 2024 were:

Award recipients 2024:

Emily Carr of Newark Orchard School:

Emily has been at Newark Orchard School for several years. Over that time, we have had the privilege of watching her grow into the kind and compassionate person she is today. She has dealt with her health needs and changes in her life with patience and she is excited for the next steps in her future.

Anna and Dexter Hibbard of Tuxford Academy:

Anna and Dexter are students at Tuxford Academy. Their mum, Miss Claire Hallam worked at the Academy for a number of years as a science teacher and teacher training lead. She was a wonderful teacher, colleague, partner and above all else Mum. Claire passed away in 2023 after a relatively short illness. Both Anna and Dexter showed such resilience following this tragic event; they continued to attend school, approaching it with a determination way beyond their years. They are an inspiration to anyone who has had to deal with losing a loved one and I for one am in awe of their positive approach to life.

Skyélett Garthwaite of Suthers School:

Skyélett is an extremely caring young person; always putting others before herself. Despite facing a number of difficulties over the years, which has sometimes impacted her mental health, her positive outlook continues to shine through. Skyélett has become a young carer for her mum, yet this has not stopped her from persevering in studying and preparing for her GCSES in the summer, applying for college and generally being a teenager!

Scarlett Hardy of Newark Academy:

Scarlett has been at Newark Academy since year 7 and it’s fair to say that it has been an eventful journey for her. Scarlett has an ADHD diagnosis along with PDA so following her expectations and boundaries has been interesting for her. Scarlett has been a pleasure to watch as she has matured. She has become a really chatty young lady with a very strong mind of her own and is certainly not afraid to speak out when she is not happy. Scarlett is busy studying currently for her GCSES and working really hard.

Alex Almeida of Newark College:

Alex joined us at Newark College in September 2023 to study media and soon settled in. Media wasn’t Alex’s first choice, however, after taking guidance we focused on the subject areas he was interested in and which was the right programme for him. We soon realised that Alex would give 100% to anything he undertook. Alex was born with 10% hearing and with hearing aids it allows him to hear around 50%. Alex has never let this affect his drive and determination to achieve his goals. He has excellent attendance and punctuality, when he arrives at college he is totally absorbed in his projects. One element that has been great to see him embrace is the use of recording podcasts for the reflective/evaluation part of his course. For others with his same issues, recording sound and their own voice, might be an area they would avoid or make a point of it being a challenge to them, but Alex has made this process a weekly part of his routine to capture his progress through his project work. We are excited to see Alex continue his college journey and what he can achieve.