The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JTYAF) has made awards to 40 young people from Ferndown Upper School totalling more than £18,000.

The FUS awards ceremony is the one of the most exciting days in the JTYAF calendar as Pete Thornton explained, “We are absolutely honoured to have the opportunity to meet these outstanding young people and present them with their awards. The students have clearly demonstrated their commitment in their chosen fields and it is fantastic that the JTYAF support will help them to further their ambitions.”

Zak Harris and Shannon Hart will use their scholarships to fund an expedition to Thailand where they have been offered a two week placement volunteering at an Elephant Care and Wildlife Rescue project. This experience will help them to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.

Hannah Johnstone will be travelling to Kenya to volunteer for the Lunchbowl Network which was set up in 2006 in response to the plight of the orphaned and vulnerable children in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. She will be joining a team of volunteers from her local church and the JTYAF have helped with the cost of the flights.

The 35 bursary awards ranged from swim teacher’s courses and boxing kit to a whole range of specialist equipment to support the students in their studies. This gives just a flavour of the diversity which the JTYAF is proud to encourage. Since 2008 the JTYAF has made awards to more than 800 young people providing funding of over £300,000.