Newport students and employers recognised at work placement awards
Students at a Newport secondary school have been recognised for their commitment and dedication during a very special awards evening.
Burton Borough School celebrated its seventh annual Work Experience Awards event where 50 students and employers were invited to attend.
Headteacher Caroline Bedford said: “We had a record number of nominations this year for students, businesses and mentors and it was wonderful to see everyone come together to honour the winners.
“We pride ourselves on our pro-active and structured approach to work experience and the opportunities it creates for our students.
“We’re particularly grateful to the employers who support our programme and who offer such hands-on experience to the students who take part.”
The awards recognised a series of key qualities, including kindness, respect, leadership, resilience, teamwork, and motivation.
The main school hall was transformed for the event with balloons and a special celebration stage.
Winners included Daniel Shelley (kindness), Molly Bell (respectfulness), Will Buckland (leadership), Abigail Hendy (resilience), Ollie Edwards (teamwork), and Daniel Worker (motivation).
Nate Tomlin was named best work experience student, and there were also prizes for best training provider which went to Harper Adams University, best overall experience which was given to The Travel Store in Newport, and a most helpful mentor award which for Charlotte from Smiley Faces Nursery.
As well as Caroline herself, guest speakers included local councillor Tim Nelson, Ben Haynes from the Education Business Links team, and Caroline Bastow, director of learning excellence, innovation and quality improvement from Telford College, who also all presented awards.
Other awards were presented by Andriane Usherwood-Brown from the Marches Careers Hub, and the school’s chair of governors John Sullivan. Musical performances on the night were given by current school students and alumni.
Caroline said: “The event was so well attended with the hall packed to capacity, and altogether 10 awards were presented – they included six Burton Borough School student character virtue awards, three business category awards, and the Work Experience Student of the Year award sponsored by Telford College.”
Burton Borough School is one of five secondary schools in Telford & Wrekin run by the Learning Community Trust. It also operates Hadley Learning Community, New Road Academy, Ercall Wood and Charlton.
