A SADDLEWORTH School pupil has been recognised with a prestigious award after helping a Ukrainian settle in after they escaped the war.
Louie Wild has been named Oldham Student of the Year by the Rotary Club of Oldham after his work at the Diggle establishment.
In January, the 13-year-old of Springhead took Ukrainian girl Zhenya Voitiiv, who had been offered a place following her and her mother fleeing their homeland, under his wing.
And Laura Blezard Downs, of Saddleworth School, told how he went above and beyond what was expected.
She said: “I placed Zhenya in Louie’s form and asked Louie to be her buddy whilst she settled in to school.
“However, Louie did more than this and has gone above and beyond to ensure Zhenya is settled, happy and confident.
“Louie ensured that he took Zhenya to all of her lessons and introduced her to all of her new teachers, prior to them teaching her.
“Louie has spent every break and lunchtime with Zhenya and built a solid, loyal friendship with her. Louie has also been learning the Ukrainian language in his own time!
“He had no understanding of the language previously and can now hold conversations with Zhenya in her native language, Louie felt this was particularly important because Zhenya has no understanding of English and was unable to speak English when she first arrived at Saddleworth School.
“Since this time, Louie has helped Zhenya to improve her English by translating words for her and by holding conversations with her in Ukranian to further allow her to settle into school and into life in England.
“Zhenya’s host family are so grateful for Louie and everything that he has done for Zhenya, especially given the incredibly difficult situation her and her mum are in, leaving their husband/dad in Ukraine at war.”
The year nine pupil collected his award from Oldham’s civic mayor, Cllr Elaine Garry, but he has many other strings to his bow.
In school, he is a form representative and is a member of the school council, while also completing his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Outside of school, he is an elected member of Oldham Youth Council and is also an elected deputy member of Youth Parliament.
Through this, he attended the Youth Parliament Annual Conference in Hull and is running in the elections for vice-chair of Oldham Youth Council.
During the February half term break, he visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland as part of the Listen to the Earth 2023 Programme and has taken a real interest in developing his understanding of the Auschwitz.
He has shared his experiences and knowledge gained from his trip to Poland with his peers and teachers in school.
And Mrs Blezard-Downs, year nine’s home school leader, added: “Louie is an absolute credit to the year group and to our school.
“He has had so many achievements both in and out of school which truly are testament to the remarkable young person he is.
“I am sure you all agree that Louie is a worthy winner and deserves this amazing award.”
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