Rosie Barrett

Through school, Rosie has been involved in volunteering since she was 14 years old. This year she has focussed her efforts on one primary school offering access to a variety of after school clubs which would not be possible otherwise; High Five Netball, Cross County, Fitness, Football. Athletic�s, and Rounder�s. Rosie has achieved over 400 voluntary hours doing this, as well as spending her time to buddy a Year 7 leader. She has demonstrated skills such as confidence, perseverance, communication and determination through her voluntary work. Rosie was previously known as a very shy girl and now she has grown into a very confident and self assured young lady who is a role model to all.

Rosie has not only influenced the various projects but she established them. Since the initial set up, she has encouraged those who wouldn�t necessarily participate in after school clubs to attend regularly. She has created a culture of a variety of clubs open and accessible to all. Rosie has therefore successfully eradicated the problem of young primary school children abstaining from participating in sport and physical activity. In addition to this she has changed their perception of sport and physical activity amongst this group resulting in an engaged group of young pupils. This was achieved in such a short space of time.

After winning Volunteer of the Year at her local awards, Rosie was then nominated for the Lancashire Sports Awards, held in October at Blackburn Rovers FC. Out of 13 other entries from other Local Authorities, Rosie was chosen as the county winner. This was due to her commitment and experience so far, which is a huge achievement for a girl who is only 16 years old!

Rosie somehow finds the time to balance her school life, work, volunteering, school and extra curricular fixtures, club matches and Duke of Edinburgh. She is a role model not only for pupils and staff at her school, but also for younger pupils at her primary schools. She is also a 2012 Young Ambassador and continues to make her mark in the inspiring role. She has solely set up a number of after school commitments using an innovative approach to engage young children into sport and physical activity.

The impact Rosie has had is evident in the high number of regular of regular members of each sports club within the primary school that she works within. Wherever Rosie volunteers, she has an instant impact on those around her and I am more than sure that the quality of her work would be replicated wherever she would work. She has an array of qualifications from Trampolining Assistant Coach to Child Protection and First Aid and uses them to the full. As part of the whole school Sports Leaders programme, Rosie organises and runs sessions for her house of leaders and at present is a mentor for a Key Stage 3 Sports Leader in school. All in all, Rosie is a dedicated and passionate person and she is truly an inspiration to all the people she works with!