Three students have recently been presented with a 2023 Rising Stars Award. This is the fifth year of the awards which were introduced following the creation of The Stacey and Lucy Foundation in 2018.

The Foundation was established in memory of young athletes Stacey Burrows and Lucy Pygott who were tragically killed in an accident in November 2016. Stacey and Lucy, both first year students at the College, were unassuming, dedicated young women, committed to reaching the top of their sport by working tirelessly in pursuit of their ambitions.

The Rising Stars Awards were introduced to help support College students to reach the next level in their chosen sport by awarding grants to go towards sporting equipment, transport costs and competition fees. We received a record number of applications from young hopefuls and, after reading them all, the families of Stacey and Lucy selected this year’s award winners.

Congratulations to Reef Aston, Sam Marney and Lotte Koudjis who are well deserving winners of the award.

Reef,First year student specialises in Judo at national level and has been participating in the sport since he was introduced to it in year 5! The money kindly donated will go towards the costs of entering and participating in Judo competitions, which he hopes will lead him to being able to represent England one day.

Sam, Second year student, is a track runner competing in 800m, 1500m and 3000m. After being injured last season he turned his attention to rehabilitation and training and hopes to use the money to buy some more specialist kit to aid his recovery when running and prevent further injury. His ultimate goal is to compete in this year's Israel U20 european championships (1500m) and long term at the 2028 LA Olympics!

Lotte, Second year student, swims for Bracknell and Wokingham Swimming Club at both regional and national levels, currently ranking 1st in Berkshire and 2nd in the South East for 50 freestyle in her age group. The money received will help Lotte fund a new race suit and cover transportation costs to competitions. She aspires to  join Bath university and become a member of their Olympic squad alongside obtaining a degree in biochemistry.