We are honoured to announce that one of our members of staff, class 12 teacher Alisha Wilmot, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK and is the equivalent of an MBE.

The award, which recognises her incredible voluntary work, was given to Miss Wilmot and the rest of her scout group, the 3rd Eastwood Scout group, by Her Majesty the Queen as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, with the official presentation on Wednesday 16 November.

As a group scout leader, Miss Wilmot oversees all the sections and leads volunteers within the group. The scout group works with young people –from age 5 to 14, with approximately 65 young people and 13 volunteers who help run the group every week. In response to the award, she said: “Personally, I was very surprised to be awarded this honour. I have been in scouting since the age of five, so it is something I have always done and been proud of.”

The prestigious award recognises the work the group did throughout the pandemic, where they ran weekly online sessions such as bingo, family quizzes and even an online camp. The feedback they received from parents was outstanding, informing Miss Wilmot and the team of the impact they had on their children and how much they looked forward to their scouting sessions.

Miss Wilmot and her mother would also drive around to the houses of all the young people dropping off activity books and any items they needed to complete the activities to ensure no child missed out.

Joe Barker, District Commissioner, said “I would like to thank Alisha for her hard work over the last two years in her role as group scout leader, a huge congratulations to her, and everyone involved in Nottinghamshire Scouts on receiving this fantastic award.”

We are incredibly proud of the community work that Miss Wilmot has done and continues to do. Courtney Hoop, Principal, said: “This award reflects the compassion, selflessness and dedication to others that Alisha has in abundance, both within her role in our academy and in her personal life. We are delighted and proud of the recognition of her hard work – she is an asset to Yeoman Park Academy.”

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee.