To win this national award once is special and a once in a lifetime achievement but to win it twice is really something else…and for the first time it will be aired in a special programme hosted by Ant and Dec ”The Prince’s Trust Awards”  on Thursday 26^th May at 8.30pm on ITV.

After a troubled secondary school experience in 2 schools and time out of education completely Ella Williams joined Dacorum Education Support Centre (DESC) in Hemel Hempstead in November 2019 in Year 10.

“My confidince was really low and I didn’t feel like I could trust anyone” stated Ella.  She struggled to attend but with the help, support and belief of staff she slowly began to feel more comfortable in the Prince’s Trust setting which then helped her access all her other lessons in centre. By Year 11 her attendance had gone from 30% to 90% and she was enjoying education. She gained her Level 1 Achieve award and that inspired her to support and motivate other learners in the group.

 

Julie Wilcox, Prince’s Trust Co-ordinator at DESC, put Ella forward, together with her link mentor and Maths teacher Kane Beere for this award to recognise the significant personal journey made over the 2 years. Behind the scenes, Ella has had to overcome a lot of adversity but with her newfound self-belief she successfully gained the qualifications and grades to get to college and is now studying Health and Social Care with a desire to work with young children in a nursery.    

The icing on the cake…a VIP experience for Ella and her family with Ella proudly walking down the red carpet alongside celebrities and other award winners to attend the prestigious awards event held this year at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.

“We are all so proud of Ella’s success” commented Sara Lalis, Headteacher, “It’s a fantastic accolade for Ella and for all of us at DESC to get the recognition of the life-changing work we do with young people”