St Albans RC High School Awards Evening

Posted on

At the end of October 2019, Dan McGrath, Senior Account Manager from our Cardiff secondary team, was invited to attend an awards evening for outstanding achievements at St Albans RC High School in Pontypool as a key sponsor for the event. The awards were for young people in every year group in the school, from the youngest in year 7 to the eldest in year 13, across all subject areas. As one of our valued clients, we were delighted to receive an invite to the event, and we were honoured to present an award to a very deserving young person on the night.

St Albans RC High School

Dan has worked with the school for over 5 years providing them with supply staff when required. He chose to sponsor the awards event as it supports our company value of ‘community’ and promotes a positive message for young people by recognising them for their successes and achievements. Emma Williams, Branch Manager of New Directions Education secondary department, explained “we are delighted to support St Albans with this fantastic evening celebrating the successes of their students. We are proud to work in partnership with the school and its local community, and we strive hard to provide the highest quality of staff for them. We are in our second consecutive year of successfully being awarded preferred supplier status to all secondary schools within Torfaen and we pride ourselves working alongside them all to ensure that our teachers and staff support the school teams and enable the students to achieve their potential.”

Over 200 people attended the awards event, including proud parents and family members, alongside teachers and prominent council officials. The awards evening launched with a musical opening from the talented school choir and the Headteacher’s introduction and welcome talk. This was followed by an inspirational guest speaker, Jamie McAnsh, who was an ex-soldier and recipient of the Brave Britain award. Jamie gave an uplifting talk about the importance of perseverance and he also raised some important points about mental health awareness.

The St Albans RC High School individual awards then got underway for each subject area and each year group. Dan was asked to present the notable Mike Twomey Award for Outstanding Pupil Contribution to the Community, an accolade that fits perfectly with our company values. This wonderful award went to Emily Paige-Baber for charity work that she has completed. Well done Emily!

Dan McGrath at St Albans RC High School awards

The evening was a fantastic success and a credit to the exceptional pupils at St Albans. Dan commented “it was a fantastic event that we were excited to get involved in. Having worked closely with the school for the past 5 years, it was great to give something back and see the school from a different perspective. As well as some great performances from the school choir and hearing some fantastic and inspirational speakers, a personal highlight was seeing the number of high achievers in the school and being able to share this with their families. Congratulations to all involved!”

Headteacher, Mr Lord said “we very much appreciated New Direction’s contribution in supporting our awards evening this year. The commitment that Dan and New Directions demonstrate to our school is very much appreciated and their cooperation and continuing support in supplying us with the highest calibre of staff has a positive impact on our high standards here at St Albans.” Dan thoroughly enjoyed the event alongside the teachers and pupils of St Albans RC High School. It was a privilege to see a new side to the school and he now looks forward to attending their future upcoming events, such as their Christmas Carol Service and School Sports Day. Being part of our clients’ communities is one of the things we love most about what we do.

Contact your New Directions Account Manager today to find out how we can support your school with your community projects too.