A pupil has been awarded a medal and £200 for telling the story of her grandmother’s trip to Berlin in 1961 when she witnessed events around the building of the Berlin Wall. 

Wanstead High School pupil Marie Campbell, 14, was awarded for her hard work in the classroom and the contribution she made to her German lessons when she told her classmates about her grandmother’s stories.

Marie brought in an old photo album to show her classmates which featured black-and-white photos, flyers and propaganda material.

She also shared a letter written by her grandmother at the time speaking of her fears at the time of the events.

Awards were handed out to 140 other pupils from Redbridge schools at the Jack Petchey Foundation (JPF) Achievement Awards held at Ilford Town Hall on Thursday.

The event honours young people between the ages of 11 and 25 for their academic and extra-curricular achievements.

JPF coordinator at the school, Claire Harrison, said: “Marie is an outstanding student in German, learning hard, working well in class and thus setting a good example to her classmates. 

“She has always gone way beyond the expectations we set for our students and has produced many creative pieces of homework which I gladly use as teaching material in my classroom.

“Marie made an unforgettable contribution this year, as she brought in her grandma’s photo album from her trip to Berlin in August 1961, when the wall was built.

“By pure chance, Marie’s grandma was in Berlin on August 13 and witnessed these life-changing events.

“Marie asked her grandmother about Berlin and in addition to a fantastic photo album full of black and white photos, flyers, and original propaganda, she shared a very personal letter with us, written by her grandma about her feelings and fears at that time.

“It was a memorable experience for the whole class and certainly me as a teacher and German native.” 

Euan Carter, 14, who attends Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green, was also awarded for overcoming speech and language difficulties.

Mark Loster, JPF coordinator at the school, said “Euan was chosen by his peers for making tremendous progress in overcoming his speech and language difficulties.

“Despite all his learning difficulties he has maintained a positive attitude towards his studies, worked well with support staff and class mates.

“He has also achieved his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. His determination and commitment to achieve has earned him the respect of his year group.”

The award money was spent on GCSE revision materials for Euan to support his studies.