SIX students from Court Fields School, Wellington, have won a police sponsored award for their “above and beyond” efforts to support the local youth community.

On Wednesday, May 21, six year 10 students, Ashleigh P, Lucy T, Aidyn L, Karylle P, Ben F and Rowen H secured the Sandy Padgett Award for 2025 at the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards for their work on a pilot project with Somerset West police.

The prize, which honours the work and commitment to service of the late district Commander of Somerset West, Chief Superintendent Sandy Padgett, was presented to the winning students by Sandy’s husband Ken.

On announcing the winners of the award, the Detective Superintendent Lisa Simpson said: “This remarkable group of Year 10 students from Court Fields School in Wellington, have gone above and beyond to ensure that young people’s voices are truly heard.

“Recognising that youth opinions were often filtered through professionals, they volunteered to work directly with Somerset West Police as part of a pilot project.

“Initially a reserved group, over the past year, their impact on the town has been impressive. They created a presentation encouraging other year groups to share their concerns of young people in their town, and have become the spokespeople between the school and local officers.

“Their confidence has grown rapidly, they’ve presented to professionals and voluntary organisations at a community breakfast, secured funding from the Wellington Rotary Club, and are now working with youth services to help shape a dedicated youth hub in the centre of Wellington.

“Their work is already making a real difference and they now hope to grow the project across Somerset West, giving even more young people a chance to speak up and be heard.

“They truly embody the spirit of this award."

Court Fields' careers lead, Charity Hunt, said: "With such a high standard of nominations for the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards I think Mr Reed, Head of Year 10, and myself were trying to manage both our own and the student's expectations of winning the Sandy Padgett Award. So, when Detective Superintendent Lisa Simpson got to the stage and started reading our nomination well, we couldn't quite believe it.

“There were tears of elation, whoops of excitement and overwhelming sense of pride of our six students Karylle, Ben, Ashleigh, Rowen, Aidyn and Lucy.”

Headteacher Polly Matthews added: "We are so proud that our Court Fields School students have won the prestigious Sandy Padgett Award for their work as the Police Youth Advisory Group. It is all the more poignant that the award was set up in memory of Chief Superintendent Sandy Padgett, who worked tirelessly in the Avon & Somerset area, particularly on leading part of the Action on Street Crime and Citizen Focused Policing initiatives.

“Our students, through their engagement in the Advisory Group, have opened channels of communication between the young people in our community and the Police, helping to deepen trust and understanding, and this will have a lasting impact on them and the Wellington community.”