This May, Head Student Amy had the great honour of attending the May Court Dinner of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers in central London.
The Worshipful Company of Lightmongers is a modern Livery company with all of the members being involved in, or linked to, the lighting industry. The membership represents all sections of the lighting and electrical industry, including lamp and luminaire manufacturers, electrical contractors, electrical wholesalers, public lighting engineers, consulting engineers, lighting designers and architects.
As well as fostering the art and science of lighting and promoting fellowship in the industry, the Company also invests in its future by encouraging the development of education and training programmes, and, via the Lightmongers Charitable Trust also provides support to charities helping those who suffer from sensory deprivation of sight or hearing.
NCW, along with Mary Hare School for deaf children, is fortunate to be one of the educational settings which benefits from ongoing support from the Charitable Trust.
At the May’s Court dinner each year, selected students from each school receive an Exceptional Achievement Award sponsored by Past Master Hugh Ogus MBE.
This year, it was the turn of one of our Head Students Amy to attend this prestigious event. Amy was of course delighted to accept the invitation and attended with two senior members staff. Amy was a brilliant ambassador for NCW chatting with ease with other guests, some of whom were from Mary Hare School for the Deaf. Amy used the experience as an extended mobility lesson and grew so much in confidence that she ended up navigating the busy London streets with her cane rather than being guided.
Mrs Ward also had a marvellous surprise when on arrival she was greeted by a former student who had been invited to provide the entertainment. This young man had left NCW 5 years ago to travel and perform. He ended up travelling across Europe completely independently before doing a degree in popular music. He performed original songs and imaginative re-workings of familiar songs with just his guitar for accompaniment and was amazingly good. He told the audience that he would not have had the skills and confidence to do this without everything he had learned from NCW. It gave him the springboard he needed to follow his dream.
We are very grateful to the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers for their support and look forward to future events.
On Wednesday 8th May I found myself sitting in the back of an NCW car sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Lightmonger's with Mrs Ward and Mr Rooney in front. Little did I know, that I was about to experience one of the highlights of my time as Head Student. We were invited to attend the Worshipful Company of Lightmonger's annual Court Dinner at Tallow Chandler's Hall, London. The event started with a welcome drink in an open courtyard and at this point I was a mixture of nervous and excited. We were then shown into the great hall that was very big and echoey and we were seated at our named places with three knives and three forks! The three course meal was amazing and I spoke to some interesting people including a past master of the Lightmonger's. After the meal, the awards were presented and in my case this was the Lightmonger's Hugh Ogus Prize for exceptional achievement as Head Student. It was a very proud moment. Afterwards, we listened to music performed by ex NCW student Sean Harrington. All in all, an unforgettable evening!
