Students and staff at Northampton Academy are celebrating after winning a remarkable five awards at United Learning’s Best in Everyone Awards 2021.
Each year the awards celebrate the impressive achievements of students, staff and teams in schools across United Learning. They recognise a wide range of successes, including exemplary academic performance, dedication to leadership and service, as well as lifetime achievement. 2021 marks the ninth year that the awards have been held and the second year that the presentation has been conducted virtually.
As part of this year’s online celebration, each winner was announced via a personalised video, shared on United Learning’s Twitter feed to an audience of over 10,000 users. The bespoke videos include a photo of the winner, as well as a recorded message from a member of the senior leadership team at the winner’s school.
The winners at Northampton Academy were:
- Jed Queally - Support Staff of the Year Award.
- Ashiki Nandi - Pupil of the Year
- Anastasija Viktorova - Art Award for Years 10-13.
- Mantas Martinkus - Geography Award for Years 10-13.
In picking up these awards, the winners saw off strong competition from a range of exceptional nominees across the country, with 400 nominations being submitted in total. To commemorate their outstanding achievement, the winners are each set to receive a glass award which will be posted to their school in the coming weeks.
Jed Queally, Business Manager at the academy, was named Support Staff of the Year, for his tireless efforts in supporting the school’s development. Described in his nomination as “one of a kind”, Jed has been a critical part of the school’s improvement journey and has overseen large development projects. Likewise, his “over and above approach” has led him to undertake special training with his dog, Lily, offering highly popular therapy dog sessions to students every half term.
Speaking about his award, Jed said:
“I’m delighted to have won this award. I have a fantastic team around me that work incredibly hard and I am very lucky. I’m collecting this on behalf of all the support staff at Northampton Academy for the work they do every single day to support our staff, students and their families.”
Taking home one of the event’s standout student awards was Year 9 Ashiki Nandi, who was crowned Pupil of the Year. In her nomination, Ashiki is praised as “an excellent student with a genuine interest and determination to be the best student in STEM.” She frequently extends her knowledge beyond the curriculum and this year has expertly fulfilled the role of STEM leader at the Academy. Ashiki also takes part in a variety of extracurricular activities, including playing in the prestigious NMPAT County Training Orchestra.
Commenting on her success, Ashiki said:
“When I found out I had won such a prestigious prize, I was overjoyed and shocked. I feel extremely proud of myself for working so hard to receive this recognition. I am very grateful to all my teachers for challenging me academically and strengthening my character. I would like to thank Mrs Ashton in particular, who nominated me for this award and supported me the whole way.”
Winning the Academy’s final three awards were Year 13 students Marshall Rice and Mantas Martinkus, and Year 11 student Anastasija Viktorova who scooped individual academic awards for their exceptional abilities and commitment to their respective subjects. Each student was recognised for going above and beyond what is expected of them and for inspiring their peers with their impressive ambition.
Speaking about her win, Anastasija, said:
“I am honoured to have won this award and am proud that my hard work has paid off. I'm excited to see what the future holds with my artistic development.”
Chris Clyne, Principal at Northampton Academy, said:
“Congratulations to each one of our students picking up an award today. I am really pleased to have achieved three subject awards which reflect the high academic standards we have set at Northampton Academy. Marshall, Anastasija and Mantas have each shown a real love for their subject and through hard work have produced some excellent work.
I am thrilled for Ashiki on being named Pupil of the Year. She embodies our Pillars of Virtue; Respect, Determination, Ambition, Tolerance and Integrity and demonstrates them each and every day. She is highly driven and is determined to reach her goals.
Likewise, it is excellent to see Jed being crowned Support Staff of the Year and receiving national recognition for all of the exceptional work he does at the Academy. He really is an asset to our school community and highly deserving of this award.”