Students and staff at St Mark’s School held their annual Awards Evening on 18th November, welcoming Vice Chairman of the Council, Councillor Ian Gilchrist, as their guest speaker.
The event provided the perfect opportunity to share in the achievements and successes of students throughout the recent academic year, particularly those students celebrating early GCSE successes.
Headteacher, Barnaby Ash said: “The Awards Evening is a wonderful celebration of the achievements of the students of St Mark’s School. It was a superb evening and a very special occasion for the students and their families.”
“St Mark’s is a warm and caring school with a supportive family ethos. We have many dedicated staff, all focused on helping and supporting our students achieve both academically and pastorally.
“The Awards Evening is a unique event in the school calendar that allows us to recognise the work and commitment of our students and celebrate their achievements.
“We were delighted to welcome our Guest Speaker, Vice Chairman of B&NES, Councillor Ian Gilchrist. He provided a thought-provoking introduction to the event and commended our students on their achievements both at school and the wider community.”
The school is supported every year at its Awards Evening by local businesses and community members, many of whom sponsor key achievement awards.
Head of Transition and Year 7, and organiser of the event, Mrs Michele Hills, said: “We are grateful for the support and encouraging relationships that we share with many local businesses and for their continued input into our school.”
The Bath Chronicle provided the Award for English, with this year’s recipient, Ed Baldock, being a very deserving winner. Dr James Thomas, Head of English, commended Ed on his achievements.
“Ed has a real flair for language – both written and spoken. Over the past few years at St Mark’s he has developed a distinct personal voice: one suffused with wit and imagination.
“He has brightened up many an assembly with engaging readings, dramatic sketches and short films and his commitment to the school, from volunteered articles for the Larkhall News to contributions in plays and shows, is unquestionable.”
Amongst the other awards presented were the AIM Cup for innovation in ICT, donated by Peter McCowen of 123 AIM Business Mentoring and awarded to DJ Ferris and James Jean-Francois; The Award for Mathematics awarded to Toby Whitehead; The Wessex Water Award for Science, awarded to Zac Woodford and The Wicheard Cup, awarded to Jordan Wickens for making extraordinary progress and outstanding academic achievements.
Laurie Maylor and Toby Little were commended for their outstanding contributions to the community and awarded the Peplow Shield.
This year, the boys have been on an incredible journey to raise awareness and funding for a trip to Mexico to build a new home for a Mexican family, which they achieved in April 2014.
Chaplain at St Mark’s, Jerry Parr, praised their efforts. He said: “Their efforts this year have benefitted communities both at home and abroad and we hope that their hard work and tenacity will inspire others to consider this type of work.”
This year’s winner of the St Mark’s Overall Achievement Trophy was Toby Whitehead for his outstanding contribution to school life and for excelling in his academic studies.
“Toby is a delightful, thoughtful and very able student who achieved outstanding results last year, a year early, gaining A* grades in Maths and R.E as well as an A grade in ICT,” said Deputy Headteacher, Mr Chris Ryan.
“This was in addition to an A grade at GCSE Geography, gained whilst in Year 9 and a B grade in Latin, a subject that Toby studied after-school.
“Toby has also decided to study AS Level Maths, in which he gained a B grade, and is now studying for his A2 in Maths for which he is predicted an A.
“He is well on his way to achieving 13A*C grades at GCSE, all at B to A*. Toby is a deserving winner of this most prestigious award and we congratulate him on his achievements.”
