Story by by Ceilidh Hammill
After a crazy start with excited parents chasing after one another and familiar requests for children to move their cars, the first Burngreave Young People’s Award Ceremony began.
Awards were presented to hundreds of us, from early primary to the end of secondary school, for sports achievement, excellent behaviour, and much more. But it was clear that we were all there for one purpose: to celebrate the hard work and success of the young people in our area. These efforts are definitely worth recognition because as MC Nigel said as he welcomed us all, “these kids have worked super hard”.
The presentation was accompanied by a play produced by the Yemeni Study Support Project, ‘Don’t take drugs’, and a freestyle break dance performance by Street Vibes and Spectrum Crew, part of the Burngreave Problem Busters project. Both were wonderful and the performers worked hard to help make the night a success.
After the entertainment we were called up group by group to receive our awards. Every young person was applauded as they collected their certificates (and of course their book tokens!) and as a result of the sheer numbers of people we all ended the evening with raw hands from our enthusiasm.
Everyone I spoke to enjoyed the evening and felt that it was great to come together to celebrate these achievements. “It was a fantastic evening,” an old teacher of mine told me, “Nice to see so many different cultures supporting our children and hopefully, we can keep moving forward!”