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A student at Prince William School has been chosen as the winner of an annual award created to recognise sporting potential and resilience.
Year 8 pupil Amelia DeSilva received this year’s Anna Horrell Award after completing a six-month mentoring programme with the Mintridge Foundation, which pairs young people with professional athletes to support them in building confidence and overcoming challenges. Amelia was mentored by Olympian Nekoda Smythe-Davis, who represents Team GB in judo.
Alex Wallace, founder of the Mintridge Foundation, said: “Amelia simply screams all of the qualities that this award is about and she has been a standout mentee for us from the start of her programme.
“Each fortnight Nekoda would report back to the Mintridge team about how well Amelia was tackling the challenges that sport and school bring with such maturity. Her conscientious approach to the programme reaped huge rewards as she took so much away from working alongside a professional sports star.
“We cannot wait to see what Amelia has in store for the future!”
Amelia was presented with her award in a special assembly last month by Alex and relatives of Anna Horrell. Anna was a passionate supporter of young people in sport and mentored many young people in their chosen sport.
Prince William School headteacher Anna Hewes said: “We are so incredibly proud of Amelia for the commitment she has shown during her mentorship and, of course, for being honoured with this incredible award. We know how amazing Amelia is in both her sport and her attitude to her studies, so it’s wonderful to see this recognised with the award.
“I’d also like to say a huge well done to the seven other students from Prince William School who completed the mentoring programme and benefited from this fantastic opportunity to learn from professional athletes and Olympians.”
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Award winner Amelia DeSilva, left, and Anna Horrell, who inspired the award