Surrey’s High Sheriff helped celebrate the magnificent work of volunteers at Hambledon Community Shop when she joined the Lord-Lieutenant at an award ceremony on 14 June.
The Lord-Lieutenant presented The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the UK’s highest award for volunteer groups, to the people who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to deliver groceries.
Bravo to everyone at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre for the excellent ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. Great to see live theatre back again and the outstanding acting brought a big smile to the faces of the audience.
Learning ‘How not to die from a stab wound’ with the Camberley Heath Youth Engagement Officers.
St John’s C of E Primary School in the Goodwin area of Dorking “does a tremendous job of keeping all children in education regardless of their backgrounds,” said Dr Julie Llewelyn during a visit to the school in June.
The school is in a deprived area with a high proportion of children entitled to school meals. However, it is now the number one primary school in Surrey, thanks to the efforts of headteacher Jacky Fyson and her team.
Dr Llewelyn is pictured answering questions from children during her visit to Hambledon Pre-School. The teachers had asked the children to think about the role of a High Sheriff, prompting some imaginative answers. Happily, killing or chasing away dragons isn’t part of Dr Llewelyn’s duties!
Children’s charity Barnardo’s is rolling out a free training course to empower all school staff to help children across Surrey with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Dr Llewelyn attended the training on Zoom and said: “You learn about recognising and managing ADHD, and anyone in a school is welcome to participate, whether you’re a receptionist, catering staff, teaching assistant or teacher.”
Dr Llewelyn’s first visit as High Sheriff followed her theme of ‘Every child included’ and was at Spelthorne School in an area with pockets of deprivation alongside more affluent ones.
Her theme focuses on keeping young people in school through the proper support at the right time and is particularly appropriate now. After the pandemic, returning to school has posed significant challenges for many young people who did not fully engage with online learning during the lockdowns.
The issue is that if a young person hasn’t had the early help they need and misses a lot of schooling, they often fall into antisocial behaviour and become involved with county lines.
Another school, Thamesmead School in Shepperton, leads the way in the Borough with its Inclusion Unit. The unit works with students to identify problems early and ensure they are supported. Early intervention is key to preventing all sorts of school-related issues from happening later.
Dr Llewelyn said: “The local Youth Engagement Officer and the team at Family Services are busy doing all they can to help these young people, and demand is enormous as Surrey emerges from the pandemic.”
Dr Llewelyn really enjoyed getting to grips with car engines at GASP Motor Project thanks to the totally inspiring students at Jubilee High and the wonderful GASP staff.
@HelloDorking businesses welcomed Dr Llewelyn to Dorking for Surrey Day, receiving a warm welcome from Mid Surrey Community Fridges, Burgundy & Black coffee shop, FoodFloat and SC Fuller fishing shop.
The High Sheriff heard how the businesses managed during the pandemic and their hopes as lockdown eases.
“The first recorded High Sheriff of Surrey was In 1066 and since then the role has evolved through plague, wars, huge upheavals of all kind and pandemics. Long gone are the law enforcing, tax collecting strongmen of old and, as Surrey emerges from the ravages caused by Covid 19, I feel hugely priviledged to take on the ‘softer power’ of the modern day High Sheriff. The ability to support, say thank you, convene and connect: or as I like to say, ‘join the dots together’ bringing people together to share professional and personal experiences, one of those things that makes life better. “
Dr Julie Llewellyn
High Sheriff of Surrey 2021-22
30th April 2021
