A PARTNERSHIP between a Menston school and a school in South Africa has yet again been publicly honoured with a prestigious Diana Award.

The Diana Award is a legacy to Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better.

Since 1999 it has recognised over 42,000 young people who have made a positive difference to the lives of others and their communities.

St Mary’s School students Beth Cotton, Anna Evans, Myles Hanlon, Megan Haskins, Helena Hunt, Megan Ireton-Bourke, Olivia Leonard, James Smith, Emily Sutcliffe, Eleanor Thompson, Bethany Tindall, Caroline Turnbull, Karl Verspyck and Jonathan Vincent were awarded the Diana Champion Volunteer Award for their work in South Africa as part of the Bambisanani Partnership.

The students visited the country during the summer and were responsible for mentoring young leaders from Mnyakanya High School through the Bambisanani Leadership Award.

In addition, they also taught at the school and together with Mnyakanya students, were responsible for organising community reading and sports festivals.

The St Mary’s students also worked at Ntolwane Primary School and Zulufadder Orphanage.

The group were presented with their award at the recent prestigious Diana Award ‘Celebrate Young Heroes’ ceremony held at Leeds United Football Club.

David Geldart, assistant headteacher at St Mary’s and founder of the Bambisanani Partnership said: “We at St Mary’s are extremely proud of the group who were awarded The Diana Award. The Award will encourage them to continue their work and will hopefully inspire others to volunteer in their schools and communities.”