High achievers honoured in Youth in Action Education Awards

More than 300 people gathered at the American Express Community Stadium for The Argus event, which recognised the best pupils, teachers, staff and schools across Sussex.

Yesterday’s two-hour ceremony welcomed 51 inspiring nominees shortlisted in 17 different categories from scores of submissions.

From prizes for School of the Year and Best Dinner Lady to Most Improved School and the Best School Trip, the event proved a roaring success in recognising talent.

Incredible stories of personal achievement, triumph and success were order of the day – with each announced nominee and winner greeted with rounds of applause, tears and cheers from an energetic crowd.

Brighton’s brilliant Theatre Workshop Choir kicked off proceedings with an expert performance before winners collected their prizes on stage.

The ceremony was established after the success of this newspaper’s Youth in Action supplement – an eight-page pull-out in The Argus every Wednesday dedicated to stories about youth success.

Michael Beard, editor of The Argus, said: “It was an incredible event. When we launched Youth in Action we wanted to celebrate success both in the classroom and the playing field. The awards were a natural extension of that.

“When you hear some of the incredible stories behind the nominations you realise that every single one of them deserved public recognition, which we’ve been delighted to provide.

“Every single person and school that was nominated should feel extremely proud.

“We now hope to build on this and make next year’s event even more successful.”

The Argus would like to thank the ceremony host Sarah Hopwood, the schools and individuals who submitted entries and sponsors Brighton and Hove Albion, B&W Group, AVT Ltd, American Express, The Argus Appeal, Worthing Theatres, Chichester University, The Argus Card, Hays Education, Get Revising, Donatello’s, the University of Sussex, the University of Brighton, Northbrook College and Spofforths.