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A 15-year-old volunteer from St John Ambulance has received its Diana Award at a ceremony held at Canary Wharf in London.
Tom Hughes has carried out over 500 hours of volunteer work with St John Ambulance since he joined in 2009 at the age of eight.
The Diana Award recognises "courageous, caring, compassionate young people" who "have gone above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change in their communities and the world as Princess Diana believed they could." The Award recognised Tom's volunteer service, especially his role in "transforming local medical education by introducing first aid into the curriculum from KS1 - KS5."
Tom who volunteers for @stjohnambulance collects his @DianaAward pic.twitter.com/alJwbprDTk
— Diana Award (@DianaAward) October 13, 2017
Tom's Head of Year, Emma Mc Cartan and Science Teacher, Rachel Barr at Haute Vallée nominated him in secret, only telling him "in code." Ms Mc Cartan traveled to London with Tom to attend the ceremony and praised the young teen for his "fantastic" work.
@T0M_HUGHES preparing to collect his @DianaAward #hvproud of his fantastic work with @StJohnAmbJersey pic.twitter.com/yB6iMQU5Kl
— Emma McCartan (@Miss_McCartan) October 13, 2017
The Science Department at Haute Vallée also voiced their enthusiasm on social media.
Such an inspirational awards ceremony showcasing selflessness. Well done to our very own @T0M_HUGHES #hvproud pic.twitter.com/ZcehmV2PAi
— HV_Science (@Hv_Science) October 13, 2017
The young teen also received praise from the Chief Minister in the form of a tweet describing him as "an inspirational young islander."
My congratulations to @T0M_HUGHES an inspirational young islander who received @DianaAward for his work with @StJohnAmbulance in #Jerseyci
— Senator Ian Gorst (@Ian_Gorst) October 13, 2017
Later this year, Tom will have the opportunity to join specially tailored workshops and to network with other Diana Award Winner. This should help him get new skills that will come in handy for his future as a paramedic. After a three-year Health course at Highlands College, the teen is hoping to set off to university, hopefully to St. George's in London. Until then, he'll continue to put the hours in at St. John, "the only thing he stuck to over the years," according to his teacher, Bernadette Gavey.
Pic credit: Emma McCartan
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