{"id":23459,"date":"2020-02-11T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T00:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.potentialplusuk.org\/?p=23459"},"modified":"2024-12-02T16:07:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T16:07:06","slug":"building-on-success-the-above-and-beyond-awards-one-year-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/02\/11\/building-on-success-the-above-and-beyond-awards-one-year-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Building on Success \u2013 The Above and Beyond Awards One Year On"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It\u2019s been one year since we saw the inaugural Above and Beyond Awards. So, what has happened since then?<\/p>\n

The Above and Beyond Awards were created by a group of charities, companies and individuals who support the needs of children and young adults with high learning potential (gifted\/more able).\u00a0 These inaugural awards celebrated parents, teachers, support staff and other professionals in the UK who go \u2018above and beyond\u2019 to help exceptional young people within the UK achieve their high learning potential. They also celebrated the achievements of children and young people in the UK, \u2018above and beyond\u2019 expectation for their age, who help in the wider community or are overcoming challenges in order to excel.<\/p>\n

We had an amazing awards day \u2013 enjoying meeting and celebrating the work of brilliant individuals.\u00a0 Read more about it in the Above and Beyond Awards 2019 Round-Up<\/a>\u00a0 and discover more about the winners in Above and Beyond Award Winners, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

We catch up with a couple of the winners to find out what they have been doing during 2019[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”12808″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text css=””]Mariza Ferreira <\/strong>received the Above and Beyond Inspirational Therapist Award 2019<\/strong>, for her work in helping DME kids and their families, and for promoting the importance of occupational therapy both nationally and internationally. Since then, among other things, Mariza has lectured to 50 occupational therapists at The OT Show 2019 and run a course for occupational therapists on how to work with children with DME. She has created a free online course for parents of children who are struggling with auditory sensory processing and is currently writing a further course addressing other difficulties from sensory processing disorders.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”23486″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]Adam Rafael Holmes<\/strong> received the Y<\/em>oung Person\u2019s Resilience Award 2019<\/strong> for overcoming many disadvantages, including hearing and speech difficulties and severe bullying, and using those barriers as tools for growth,<\/strong> particularly in the field of creative writing.<\/p>\n

Following the awards in February, 10-year-old Adam has moved to a new home in a different area of the country, started a new school and has now written and published his own book \u201cTunnel of Adventure<\/em><\/strong>\u201d from which he is donating the proceeds to I CAN<\/a>, the Children\u2019s Communication Charity. Adam wants to inspire other children to find their voices through writing. \u201cIf you can\u2019t speak and communicate easily then life can be quite difficult. It\u2019s not fair if someone thinks they can\u2019t do things because they\u2019ve got these difficulties. I want to prove that everyone can achieve the same or different great things.\u201d<\/em> His current projects are creating an audio book and translating his book into French. Read more in the blog The Tunnel of Adventure <\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”14210″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]One of the greatest unexpected benefits of the Above and Beyond Awards has been the involvement of Bobby Seagull<\/strong> as a champion for awareness of high learning potential and DME during the last year. He moved on from being host of the Above and Beyond Awards to becoming an ambassador for Potential Plus UK and shows a great understanding of the challenges faced by young people with high learning potential \u201cIQ on its own doesn\u2019t necessarily lead to achievement. Children with High Learning Potential need the right support, opportunity and motivation to achieve.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Since rising to fame on University Challenge, Bobby, who is a passionate advocate for maths education and a social media aficionado, has written books, starred in podcasts and television shows and continues to teach maths. His profile has made him one of the media\u2019s \u201cGo-To\u201d people for items involving maths and\/or high iq, enabling him to promote understanding of the needs of young people with high learning potential. Find out about a recent debate he has been involved in and why he changed his twitter handle to Bobby \u201cProud Geek\u201d Seagull in the blog Do You Embrace “Geek” and “Nerd”?<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12990″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12813″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”12997″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Another benefit of the Above and Beyond Awards was the agreement by its partner organisations that the Awards on their own just weren\u2019t enough \u2013 that it was important to build on the success of these celebrations, to continue to develop support for young people with high learning potential, through collaboration and networking, and that their aims should include:<\/p>\n