We are delighted to announce that Ellie Mitchell (Year 11) has won the Gateshead Young Sports Achiever of the Year award in recognition of her fantastic achievements in football.  This is the second year running that an Emmanuel College student has won this award, with Jay Pringle (Year 11) scooping the award last year for his Taekwondo achievements.

Ellie was presented with the award at the #INSPIRE Gateshead School Sport Awards ceremony on Tuesday.  The award, in the individual category, recognised her excellent footballing ability.  For two years now – from Year 9 through to Year 11 – Ellie has been on day release with Sunderland Ladies’ AFC.

Ellie played in the tournament with ‘This Girl Kicks’ and she also played in the Premiership Under-21 women’s team for Sunderland Ladies.  This means that Ellie is just two steps away from a contract to be signed by the club!  She has just signed her scholarship contract in June, which means she is with the club for the next two seasons.  This will help to decide if she is signed permanently with the club.

At the awards ceremony, Ellie was presented with her award by BBC Radio Newcastle’s Matt Bailey and special guest Courtney Orange, a six-time national gymnastics champion and professional dancer who has performed with global icons like Madonna and Bruno Mars.  Now a renowned motivational speaker and wellbeing coach, Courtney inspired all who attended the ceremony with his powerful stories of resilience, mindset, and motivation.