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Diana Memorial Award recognises young Scots
09/06/2006
The first ever Scottish ceremony for recipients of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award was held in Glasgow today.
The award recognises young people who display courage and commitment to make a huge contribution to the communities where they live.
Many young Scots have already received the award since the scheme was set up in 1999, but today saw Govan High School host the first ever Scottish award ceremony to celebrate their achievements.
First Minister Jack McConnell, who presented three of the awards, said:
"Congratulations to the young people recognised here today.
This is the first ever ceremony in Scotland to mark the achievements of Diana Award winners. It's a real pleasure to be involved and I hope there will be many more.
"Whether they are carers for family members, campaigners for good causes or charity fundraisers, they have all made a tremendous contribution to the lives of others.
"But these young Scots don't put in huge amounts of time and effort simply to receive awards. They do it because they are determined, community minded, caring and courageous. They are exactly the type of people who will help make Scotland a better place to live for generations to come.Notes for news editors:
The Diana Award was set up in 1999 in memory of the late Princess. It celebrates the innate qualities - courage, commitment, compassion and selfless service to others - of young people aged 12 to 18 demonstrated through their contribution to and impact on their schools, communities and society.
So far, there are more than 12,000 young Award Holders across the UK. Over 750 young people in Scotland hold the Diana Award.
Nominations include young people who have been brave or have overcome immense personal difficulties and tragedies, as well as young carers, fundraisers, peer mentors, campaigners and students who make a profound contribution to their schools and fellow students.
A partnership with the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) has enabled the Diana team to create a special 'Anti-Bullying Diana Award' which is open to pupils at both primary and secondary schools. To date over 3,000 young people have received the Diana Anti-Bullying Award.
The First Minister presented awards to:
- Carly Scott (17yrs), of Johnstone High School, Johnstone. Carly has devoted a huge amount of her time to working with pupils of various ages. She trains both the junior and senior girls football teams two evenings after school. She assists SI pupils in maths classes, attends SI PSE classes as a befriender and runs a lunchtime club for SI, playing games etc. She was the driving force behind raising £2500 for children in need. In a local primary school she runs a breakfast sports club, 8:30-9:00am, and a multi sports club at lunchtime.
- Margaret Miller (17yrs),Clyde Valley High School, Wishaw. During her final year at High School Margaret has had a huge impact on many of the younger pupils at school. She has given willingly of her own time to lead and support younger pupils in the following areas: Summer Literacy School, Cooperative Learning Clubs, Paired Reading, Literacy Support Groups and a Confidence Building Group.
- The PALS - a group of 8 young people aged 10/11yrs - from Chapelgreen Primary School, Kilsyth. Elizabeth Bauld, Melissa Dickinson, Craig Service, Gemma Brown, Jack Hannah, Steven Malcolm, Johanne Thornton and Scott Provan. They are 8 Playground Monitors in Pry 6, 2 from each house, who are trained as Peer Mediators keep a lookout for situations developing, children alone or upset etc. and alert playground supervisors as appropriate. They received the Diana Anti-Bullying Award.
There will be two 'Gold Awards' presented later in the day. The Gold Award is awarded to schools that have nominated young people for the Diana Award five or more times and is an official thank you and recognition of this. This is the first time an award has been presented to a Scottish school. Govan High School's head teacher, Mr Ian White, will collect the first Gold Award. The second Gold Award will be presented to Castlehead High School - three teachers from Castlehead will collect the certificate.