Brighton’s Young Citizens Recognised for their Work in the Community
Students from Longhill High School joined with schools across Brighton & Hove to enjoy an evening of celebration and recognition, when they attended the Rotary Young Citizens Awards evening at the Hilton Brighton Metropole last Tuesday.
Staff and students from Longhill, Blatchington Mill, PACA, Hove Park and Varndean were invited for the evening by the Rotary Club in recognition of the work they have been carrying out over the past few months in their local communities. Awards were presented by Lord Lieutenant Peter Field.
Year 11 student, Scarlett Keeley, explained what the Longhill students have been doing as their contribution to the local Deans community. “We have been going into local primary schools since Easter, working as Sports Leaders. We’ve been helping Year 1 pupils with lots of PE-based activities, including things like catching and throwing, which help to improve the children’s motor skills. We’ve been coaching children from Woodingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean and also at Downsview, which is for children with special needs.”
Scarlett went on to explain that she had chosen to become a Sports Leader after attending a special assembly. “I would recommend it.” she said. “It’s given me confidence, lots of satisfaction in helping others, the ability to talk to groups of young children and a much better understanding of what a teacher’s job entails.” Did Scarlett enjoy the evening at the Hilton Brighton Metropole? “Yes I did! It was a magnificent evening, full of talented and humble people.” she said. “It was an honour to sit amongst my peers who had given up so much of their time to volunteer and help out their local communities.”
PE teacher Nick Rolf, who runs the Sports Leaders programme at Longhill, told us, “Our young people contribute to the community by giving their time and the Rotary Club recognise this. We are very proud of our students and the work they do on this programme to help younger children learn about values such as teamwork, respect, self-confidence, fitness and engagement with others.”
Head teacher, Kate Williams, attended the evening and commented, “I enjoyed it immensely. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the amazing achievements of some of the young people at Longhill High School.”
Pictured are all the Gold and Silver Award winners
