Education Secretary Nicky Morgan awards prestigious prize at King's

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan presented the Lord Glenamara Memorial Prize at a ceremony hosted at King’s College London earlier this week. 

President & Principal Professor Ed Byrne, who opened the ceremony, said: ‘As some of you may know, I grew up in Newcastle before I moved to Australia, so I’m delighted to be part of the ceremony which recognises the hard work and dedication of students in the North East of England. Congratulations to George and the runners-up on all their incredible achievements, and I hope we may  see you all again at King’s  in the near future.’

George Hunter from Ponteland High School in Newcastle - Upon -Tyne won the prize for his work on raising awareness on mental health issues. George has successfully set up his own blog ‘My Tie Diary’ to encourage more people to discuss mental health and to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination. In addition to raising awareness on mental health, George was also recognised for his academic achievements and running a series of Mandarin classes for Year 9 students.

The Lord Glenamara Memorial Prize awards students in Year 11 and 12 in the North East of England on their academic performance, contribution to their community, such as working with a youth group or charity, and their demonstrated interest in government, education and public service. The prize was first introduced in 2012 to celebrate the life of the late Rt Hon Lord Glenamara CH, former Secretary of State for Education and Science. George is now the fourth student to win the prestigious annual prize dedicated to awarding high-achieving students.

Nicky Morgan, Education Secretary, said: ‘George’s outstanding academic achievements and willingness to serve his wider community in various ways made him an incredibly deserving winner. I was delighted to meet George, and to present him with the Lord Glenamara Memorial Prize. Both he and the runners-up deserve great credit for what they have achieved, and I have no doubt they will go on to great things in the future.’

The runners - up were:

Darren Appleby, Churchill Community College

Lucy Bell, Hebburn Comprehensive School

Maryam Garkuwa, St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College

Lauren Howells, The English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College

Leoni Loughlin, Harton Technology College

Reiss Luke, Wellfield Community School

Connor Peebles, Churchill Community College

Eleanor Peggie, Harton Technology College

Zoe Rankin, Carmel College 

For more information about King’s, visit the King’s in Brief web pages.