An Evening to Celebrate the Academic Achievement of Looked After
Lorraine Absolon, Education Manager for Looked After Children in Kirklees, with children's author Tommy Donbavand
Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:34:00 GMT
The University played host to an evening of celebration and awards giving on Monday 4 February 2013, in recognition of the academic achievements of Looked After Children and Young People in Kirklees.
Held in the University’s stunning Quayside conference facilities, the event saw carers, teachers, social workers and senior representatives from Kirklees Council battle the adverse weather conditions to come together to celebrate the achievements of young people nominated for their academic successes over the last year.
A total of 148 nominations were awarded to young people for achievement in areas relating to learning and academic success, including attainment, attendance and involvement in extra-curricular activities; and came from teachers, support staff, carers and social workers. The emphasis of the awards was on celebrating achievement in all aspects of the learning experience, as well as the development of the social skills and confidence required to fully participate in learning.
Celebrated children’s author Tommy Donbavand was on hand to award certificates and vouchers to the nominees, as well as signing autographs and giving an animated and humorous speech about the inspiration to be found in books. Author of titles such as ‘Zombie!’ and ‘My Teacher Ate My Brain’ as well as the ‘Scream Street’ series, Tommy specialises in literature for children who find reading difficult and is a great advocate for academic achievement.
Everyone who attended enjoyed a festive atmosphere, with refreshments provided and activities such as badge making going on as well as artists brought in to create large canvases incorporating images representing the goals of the young people in attendance. Each nominee was also gifted a new book, kindly donated by The Book Trust.
Lorraine Absolon, Education Manager for Looked After Children in Kirklees declared the occasion ‘a wonderful evening of celebration. The smiles on everyone’s faces confirmed that this is indeed an opportunity to celebrate and recognise how important educational achievement is in the lives of our young people.’
