The annual ceremony celebrates inspiring young people who have shown courage and selfless acts of kindness. James was among five other winners from schools, college, and organisations in the Newark area.
Penny Taylor, Lead for Education and Training at Newark College, nominated James for the award. She said: “James is a resilient young man who has had to adapt to changes throughout his life. James lived with a foster carer for most of his life and this changed last year when they retired.
“Due to his age James was unable to be re-housed which meant living independently and away from his three siblings. James naturally found this difficult and learning to be fully independent at a young age is hard.
“He sought support at college and has developed coping strategies to manage his own time when not in college to ensure he is active and busy.”
Guests at the event heard how James is on track to complete his media qualification and has a passion for cosplay and TV filming. He is also committed to developing his personal attributes outside of college, including through his part-time job and work experience at a local games club.
Penny adds: “James is a lovely young man who is always polite, always grateful and a genuinely nice person. We are proud of the way he has matured and adapted to these changes, while ensuring his studies are up to date. We look forward to seeing James develop and achieve his goals, which we know he can do.”
James said: “I was surprised and delighted to win this award. I didn’t know people would think this about me. It has been a really nice event with nice food.”
Learn more about life at Newark College and the support available for students here.
Apply for our media course, here.
