Despite being a relatively small school, Lathallan continues to significantly impact the sporting arena. A remarkable 10% of Lathallan senior school pupils are competing at a regional or national level.
The Lathallan Sports Personality of the Year Awards and Dinner brought together students, parents, staff, and esteemed guests to celebrate the achievements of Lathallan’s sporting community. The event not only recognised the individual accomplishments of our Senior School pupils but also highlighted the importance of sportsmanship, and teamwork, and shone the spotlight on rising stars in the Junior School.
We were delighted to welcome Scottish swimmer, triple Olympian and double Commonwealth Champion, Hannah Miley OBE, as our special guest and speaker on the night. She spoke openly about the life lessons she’s taken on board, touching on some of tthe best moments in her career, as well as the challenges she faced – keen to share her experience with the younger generations;
“Now in my life as a mum I’m faced with many new challenges. Already the work and experience I have as an athlete is helping me with this new journey. So all of you young athletes in the room will be learning lots of skills that you will then carry with you to the next level, and through life. Sport is a great identity but who you are as a person is developed by the choices you make, the experiences that you get, and how you respond to them as well.”
The coveted Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) Award was presented to Dean Fearn (S5), who garnered recognition for his outstanding performance at the Youth Commonwealth Games and the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2023. It was certainly a memorable 12 months for Dean starting with the attention he got from the UK swimming world when he won a record-breaking haul of medals at the Speedo British Swimming Summer Championships in Sheffield. He took home four golds, and a silver, breaking numerous British age-group records along the way. Dean was then selected as one of only three Scottish swimmers to take part in the European Youth Olympics in Maribor, Slovenia – and the only one from the north and north-east. While competing in the event, he took on competitors two years older than him.
He then had a quick turnaround for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. After this event, Scottish Swimming reported; “15-year-old Dean Fearn, who was the youngest swimmer in the group, delivered a glorious gold medal in the 50m Butterfly – bettering the rest of the field with his excellent form and gritty determination. His medal set the standard for his fellow swimmers and opened the floodgates for the highest number of golds won by a swimming group at the games since 2004.”
Dean said; “This year has been great for me, I’ve seen lots of different swimmers competing, travelled a lot, and I’ve managed to pick up small things each time I’ve competed. I look at what other people do – what works for them – and then try a few of those things out myself. Some work, others don’t, but overall I can look back on this year and say I’ve done well for myself.”
Dean’s remarkable achievements have propelled him to new heights, making him a true role model for aspiring athletes. Next month he’ll be attending the Aberdeen Sports Awards as a finalist for the Young Sports Achiever of the Year Award! A member of our school community who truly inspires, and exemplifies our school values of confidence, opportunity, endeavour, respect and modesty. He speaks about his dreams of an Olympic medal in five years time, and from what we see at school, nothing is stopping him; “The Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, that’s the one that’s looking doable”.
The selection process for the SPOTY Award was highly competitive, with several exceptional candidates vying for the title. Elizabeth Cook came second after the votes had been counted with her recent Scottish Schools Athletics Association pentathlon team selection, while Arabella (S5) came third demonstrating her prowess in cycling across three different disciplines at both British and international levels. Arabella’s accomplishments earned her a spot in Team GB for the European Youth Olympic Festival and the GB Junior Academy. A fantastic achievement for her with only 4 riders selected in the UK from her year group going into the Junior Academy joining the 2nd year Junior Riders. In addition to this she has also been selected for the Scottish National Performance Programme supported by the Sports Institute Scotland.
Headmaster, Richard Toley said; “We welcome the broad-ranging skills that sports can equip young people with here at Lathallan. The hard work and dedication that our pupils put into excelling in their chosen sports is commendable, as are the efforts of our excellent teaching staff, who work tirelessly to help bring pupils in in a wide variety of sports, or to ensure their ability to succeed academically around other commitments.”