Three students have recently been presented with a 2024 Rising Stars Award. This is the sixth 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 large 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 Emily Thatcher, Ollie Owen-Thomas and Tristan Ahlheid who are well deserving winners of the award.

Emily, First year student, began playing field hockey at 8 years old at her local club. At 12 years old she moved to a bigger club for more opportunities. Emily started playing at county level and a few years later progressed to a regional team. She has recently been selected to play for Wales U18! Emily also plays for the College’s very successful women’s and mixed teams. The mixed team is on track for winning the league and the women’s team have recently won the AoC National Cup. Her dream is to represent GB at the Olympics and, at a minimum, earn a cap for her country.

Ollie, First year student, started playing table tennis around 5 years ago for fun but it quickly became a passion. He joined a local league and began training more and more! Following successes in his local league he started to compete in national tournaments in his age category. Currently he maintains an impressive 93% win rate in the Aldershot League. The money from the Awards will go towards equipment and coaching sessions and assist with entering more national competitions in the future.

Tristan, First year student, was first introduced to sailing at 7 years old when he was signed up for a course at Frensham Pond Sailing Club. He is an aspiring Olympic sailor who has, in the last 9 years, completed 4 World Championships, 2 European Championships and 14 National Championships, all in various classes of boat.