In a tradition dating back to the 19th century, a group of King’s Lynn scholars attended the awards ceremony at Sandringham House, where King Charles III was on hand to give out the prizes.

Three high achievers from our school were invited to the event, which took place in the ballroom at Sandringham on January 7.

Each received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Academic Excellence, awarded for the first time since both the pandemic, and the death of the Queen.

“The prize has been awarded to the school since 1888,” explained Andrew Johnson, Executive Head at Springwood.

“Two years of prize winners were awarded this year for 2022 and 2023. The King met with the prize winners and their families, along with other local winners.”

Winner Simone Pilmane, who left Springwood in 2022, achieved A* A Level grades in chemistry, EPQ (Extended Project Qualification), further mathematics, and physics, before going on to study mechanical engineering at Imperial College, London.

Graduating in 2023, fellow recipient Fatima Massawi also attained top A Level results, with A*s in biology, mathematics, chemistry, and EPQ, and is currently studying medicine at the University of Manchester.

The third prize winner, 2022 graduate Zara Bek, who is reading Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge, matched their achievements with A* grades in economics, history, mathematics, and politics.

Miss Pilmane and Miss Massawi were both given their awards by the King, while Miss Bek, who was unable to attend the ceremony, later received her prize from Mr Johnson at Springwood.

“This is an incredibly important event for the school,” added Mr Johnson. “We are proud that the King has chosen to present this prize to our highest performing student each year.”