On 2nd May 2014, the most anticipated day of the WOHAA calendar arrived! Over 500 participants, teachers, parents, friends and family descended on the Royal College of Surgeons in Holborn to celebrate their WOHAA achievements in style. The theme this year was ‘Going for Gold’ and students were encouraged to dress up as ‘winners’, channelling their sporting, acting and academic heroes for the chance to win the coveted ‘Best Dressed’ prize. The evening began with a performance from the world famous Pineapple Dancers who got the crowd ready and raring to go with a performance full of energy and electricity.

Performances from Joseph Hamm of Dulwich College and Abhinav Vudathu from Queen Elizabeth’s Boys also had the crowd entranced. And upcoming singer-songwriter Cally Rhodes closed down the evening with an incredible performance, getting the crowd hyped up with her covers of Taylor Swift’s ‘I knew you were trouble’ and One Direction’s ‘Midnight Memories’.

Lara Lewington, BBC Presenter and reporter for technology programme ‘Click’, presided over the evening, helping to get the crowd enthused and to oversee the smooth running of presentations. We were very lucky to have an esteemed set of presenters to hand over the awards, including Bernard Sande, Malawian High Commissioner, Jackie Cooper (Global Chair of PR Company Edelman) and The Mayor of the London Borough of Sutton, Councillor Sean Brennan.

The evening was held the celebrate the achievements of WOHAA participants over the last year. Awards were handed out in six student categories and one teacher category, with students vying for prizes from Best Presentation to Most Awareness Raised and for Overall Winner and the chance to visit the Wings of Hope school in India. Students made full use of the WOHAA Selfie Corner, taking graduation shots with mortar boards and with masks of famous people. They also signed the ‘GIANT WOHAA’, adding their names to the WOHAA legacy.

Awards were handed out to the following teams in the various categories:

Overall Winners
Team Young Volcanoes Nonsuch High School and Greeancres High School

Overall Runners Up
Team e-LEMON-ators Heathfield School, Henrietta Barnett School, Beaconsfield High School and Richmond upon Thames College

Best Presentation
Winners: Team Summit Latymer Upper School
Runners up: Team Heros Newstead Wood School
Runners up: Team L & Co Queen Anne’s School, Reading

Most Awareness Raised
Winners: Team Fuse North London Collegiate School, Heathfield School, Upton Court Grammar School and St Helen’s School
Runners up: Team Live2Learn Woodbridge High School
Runners up: Team WOHAA Warriors Bentley Wood and Claremont High School

Most Funds Raised
Winners: Team Reach Merchant Taylor’s School
Runners up: Team WOHAA Angels Surbiton High School
Runners up: Team Mini Monets Notting Hill and Ealing High School

Speak Out Award (Jack Petchey)
Winners: Team IGNITE Claremont High School
Runners up: Connect 6 Hasmonean High School (girls)

Most Innovative
Winners: Team STEP Collingwood College
Runners up: Team Utopia The Abbey School
Runners up: Team Wirral Wonders West Kirby Grammar School

Best Teacher

Winner: Kathryn Walley Heathfield School

Special recognition:

• Ian Smith Surbiton High School
• Simon Dodd Surbiton High School