Heroes were celebrated in Gedling Borough as the winners of this year’s Pride of Gedling Awards were presented with their prizes earlier this month.
The annual awards recognise those who go above and beyond, and this year we are delighted to announce that three of our amazing students have been recognised for their outstanding contribution in the community.
Winners of the Community Heroes Award – Bernice Thomas and Cullen Morathota
Nominated by Arnold Hill Academy Combined Cadet Force.
Cullen and Bernice were walking home when they saw a motorbike on its side and a man sat on the curb, clearly an accident had happened and the pair swung into action. They carried out a primary survey of the situation, announced they were trained first aiders and began to administer help to the fallen rider.
The duo kept their cool and took control of the scene, rallying bystanders to help whilst administering first aid to the rider and making him as comfortable as possible until help arrived.
The pair took photos of the scene for the rider’s insurance before passing all of the information on to the ambulance crew when they arrived around 50 minutes later.
The rider was incredibly grateful for everything Cullen and Bernice did for him and wrote into school to say thank you and let them know that he was okay.
Winner of the Dylan Barker (Young Person of the Year) Award – Isobel Somerton
Isobel was nominated by a local councillor, Kathryn Fox, for her bravery in fronting a campaign to encourage as many people as possible to sign up to the stem cell (bone marrow) register through DKMS and Anthony Nolan. This was at a time when Isobel herself needed a donor after being diagnosed with a very rare life-threatening genetic condition (only 68 known cases in the world) called Griscelli. Isobel campaigned on local and national news and across social media and as a result, hundreds of people signed up with some people already called up as a potential match and life saver to others.
Isobel was lucky enough to find a 10/ 10 donor match in Germany and went on to have her transplant on 4th June last year. The road to recovery has been very, very bumpy but Isobel is now making a good recovery and we are so proud of her. It was such a fantastic surprise for her to receive the nomination and be recognised for her achievements whilst being so ill herself.
Credit: Gedling Eye
You can read the Gedling Eye press release here.