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brixham winners
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kingswear winners
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brixhamprimary winners
Brixham Church of England Primary School and Brixham College student Nekisha Gauden are winners in the Primary and Secondary categories of Dart Harbour’s Young Champion Awards. This year saw five entries in the Primary category, with Brixham C of E Primary Year 5 gaining the highest score when judges from Dart Harbour visited the schools.
The judges were impressed with the sheer breadth and depth of the curriculum included in their entry which was entitled Hidden Treasures of the Dart.Class teacher, Kerry Rushton, was delighted to win the competition, reflecting the embedding of the Young Champion Awards in her curriculum planning. The children were inspired by a story about hidden treasures written and illustrated by teachers from the school and decided to write their own stories for the competition. The pupils also treated the judges to sculpture, hidden treasures inside coloured shells and under pebbles, murder mysteries, edible rivers and homemade drinks served by a machine in the shape of the River Dart where the drinks flowed from the source along the river down to the ‘estuary’ or cup.
For the first time, Dart Harbour awarded a second place prize to Year 4/5 children of Kingswear Primary who investigated the need for a bridge across the River Dart. After designing a questionnaire and carrying out a public survey, the children evaluated the results to arrive at a balanced written argument. The children then enjoyed working together to design their own bridges and produce their own web blog.
The standard of entries was so high this year that the judges also awarded a Highly Commended to Dartmouth Academy Years 3/4 and Broadhempston Primary Years 4/5/6. Dartmouth Academy employed a wide range of subjects to study various aspects of the River Dart, including growing and then releasing eels into the river as part of a conservation project and measuring water quality with Nigel Mortimer, Estuary Officer with South Devon Area of Natural Beauty. The pupils at Broadhempston built a three-dimensional scale model of the River Dart with a stunning amount of detail, studied plankton, again with Nigel Mortimer and wrote their own poems inspired by the river which they read to the judges. Finally, the Year 1/2 children from Dartmouth Academy produced a collage incorporating a variety of media, such as tissue, coloured paper, newspaper, paint, crayons and textured card. The pupils also studied the River Dart using a large format map and aerial photograph and produced their own writing. The judges were especially impressed by the enthusiasm with which they showed their work. In the secondary category, the only entries came from Brixham College, which submitted around 20 photographic works by individual students. The judges were impressed by the overall standard of work with some interesting and creative entries, but unanimously chose A Ray of Light – River Dart Puzzle by Nekisha Gauden as the winner. Due to the high quality of entries, the judges also awarded Highly Commended to River Dart - Levels by Liam Butler and Photograph - View of Boats on Pontoon by Lacey Hill. All schools entering the competition took advantage of the free river trips offered by Dart Harbour in association with Greenway Ferries, using the three-hour trip as an inspiration to learn about the River Dart. The Dart Harbour Young Champion Awards will run again next year and the Board hopes to offer free river trips to schools again in the Spring. More information will be available in the Autumn and it is hoped that more schools will use the competition as a basis for engaging students with the river.
Dart Harbour has also presented its discretionary, prestigious Board Award, open to individuals or organisations which go the extra mile in working with young people on the river, from motivating, training or supporting the next generation of river users.Ends