St John Ambulance volunteer wins Diana Award

Saturday 08 April 2017

St John Ambulance's Cadet of the Year has won a Diana Award for his voluntary work after being nominated by his Head of Year at Haute Vallée School.

15-year-old Tom Hugues will receive his Champion Volunteer Award at the South East Diana Award Ceremony in July in the presence of a member of the Royal family.

Tom joined St John Ambulance in 2009 at the tender age of eight, after being inspired by his reception teacher, Bernadette Gavey, who gave the class a First Aid Awareness lesson. He joined the charity later that year and by his own admission, it's "the only thing he stuck to over the years."

He told Express: "I love to be able to help people and treat them. Even if you don't always get a thank you message, it is nice to know you have done something for them. The people at St. John have always been very supportive. Bernadette was my first unit leader and then her daughter, Sam Northern took over. She always encourages me me to do and be the best I can be. Mrs. Christine Gavey, St. John's Commissioner has also helped me a lot, especially in the role of Cadet of the Year. Jane Allan and Fiona Woodrow helped me improve my confidence."

In the past four years, Tom has completed an impressive 400 hours of duty by attending public events like the Battle of Flowers, helping children learn first aid, training himself and meeting with the team every week. Both his Head of Year, Emma Mc Cartan and his Science Teacher, Rachel Barr nominated him for the Diana Award without telling him.

Super proud of @T0M_HUGHES for winning a prestigious Diana Award @DianaAward #hvproud recognition for your work in the community #hvproud

— Emma McCartan (@Miss_McCartan) April 4, 2017

He explains: "I had a brief idea. Ms McCartan almost said it, but in code, so I wasn't 100% sure. When she emailed my mum to tell her the nomination had been successful I was shocked. I think Diana's legacy is an amazing one for all the work she did with children. It is an almost Royal award and I am proud to be one of 100 people in the world to receive it. I am hoping it will help me stand out when I apply for university and jobs later on."

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."

It might be the most prestigious yet, but it is not the first one Tom's received. In 2015, he won St. John Grand Prior Award, signed by the Duke of Gloucester and the highest honour a cadet can receive, after completing 24 sections out of 28 within St. John. That same year, he was also named Young Star of the Year as part of the Pride of Jersey Awards after organising a Digital Learning Day, where got 13 companies to come in and talk about technology to the students at his school.

His parents were as shocked as he was to hear about the Award, and also very proud. Tom commented: "My family has always been there and my mum is one of my biggest inspirations and supporter."

The ceremony was originally scheduled for May at St. James' Palace but because he needs to focus on GCSEs, Tom will have to wait until July to receive his award, signed by the Prime Minister, and either Prince William or Harry or The Duchess of Cambridge.

Tom confessed to Express: "I am hoping it will be Prince Harry. He seems like the most fun and enjoyable. Prince William will be King one day so it would also be amazing to get the Award from him." 

As for the future, Tom is planning to enrol in a 3-year Health course at Highlands College before setting off to university, hopefully at St. George's in London for a Paramedic course. In the meantime, he'll continue to put the hours in at St. John.

He explained: "Being at St. John helps me improve my skills and advance in my career. When I'm at university, I will join the local St. John unit. I want to be able to give back to them later as a paramedic."

Through his Diana Award, Tom will be able to further advance his skill-set as he will be able to join specially tailored workshops and network with other Diana Award Winners later this year.