An inspirational young boy who believes “a life is worth living” has been praised for the courageous way he has coped with severe health problems and the tragic loss of his younger siblings.
Finlay Macrae was crowned “Inspirational Service Child of the Year” at an awards ceremony highlighting remarkable moments of personal courage, bravery, extraordinary achievements and contributions of children, adults and schools connected to North Yorkshire’s Armed Forces communities.
At just 10 years old, not only has Finlay learned to cope with the grief of losing his younger brother Rowan two years ago and sister, Catilin, who was stillborn in 2016, he has undergone a series of medical tests resulting in being diagnosed with epilepsy and a brain injury.
Finlay was among nine winners from North Yorkshire to be honoured during the awards ceremony at the Garden Rooms of Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn.
Despite the hardships, Finlay’s strength of character is evident as he pushes boundaries determined to live life to the full as well as keeping the memory alive of his siblings. After Rowan died aged five due to a growth in his brain, Finlay made the decision to speak at his brother’s funeral and has since always spoken about him to help break the taboo of child death.
His proud father, Simon Macrae, said: “We are so pleased for Finlay. His life so far has been difficult, more difficult than it should be for anyone so little so for something positive to come of it is lovely.”
Finlay began experiencing seizures in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was seen by a doctor in Bedford where the family lived at the time. However, it was not until medical intervention in North Yorkshire where he underwent an MRI scan and was diagnosed with a brain injury and epilepsy.
“Since his diagnosis his life has changed for the better as he finally has answers for why his brain is the way that it is,” said Mrs Kathryn Macrae.
She added: “We are so very proud of Finlay for his constant resilience. How his brain works is amazing. He is able to retain information, like navigate the London Underground without needing a tube map, he has memorised the routes and lines. Finlay is very much a child who thinks life is for living, we as a family also stand by this.”
North Yorkshire has a proud history associated with the Armed Forces which dates back more than a century, and there are 10,770 military personnel in the county – one of the largest numbers nationally.
There are currently 3,653 Service children in 223 schools across county. Military children face challenges related to regularly moving home, deployments of serving parents and the impact of these challenges on their emotional well-being.
Executive member for children and families, Cllr Janet Sanderson, said: “We are proud to host the second-annual Service Children’s Awards here in North Yorkshire. We feel it’s important that the children, young people and those who support them should be celebrated and that it was important to share their stories to inspire others.
“We had an amazing 92 children, young people and organisations nominated this year and after the difficult job of shortlisting, we had a total of nine outstanding winners. My congratulations to all those who were nominated and the winners.”
Among the other award winners was Stacey Johnson, a teacher at Risedale School, who picked up the “Service Children Advocate” title for welcoming every new service child personally and ensuring they integrate quickly.
Stacey, who has also created a wall display marking the achievements of service pupils, said: “Winning this award is the kind of news that makes you want to do a little happy dance. I'm incredibly grateful for this recognition, mostly because it means more attention for the service children, otherwise known as ‘superstars’ who make our school community so vibrant.”
Meanwhile, Carnagill Community Primary School in Catterick Garrison won the “Service Children Friendly School” award.
Headteacher Louise Newport said: “We are immensely proud of receiving this award. Our entire school staff, with the support of Mrs Sarah Bradshaw, our service pupil advocate, is deeply committed to recognising the challenges faced by our pupils. We provide a caring, nurturing and understanding environment for all students, regardless of the duration of their stay with us.
“Through regular training, our staff supports pupils and parents during times of transition and deployment, acknowledging the significant impact these events can have on families.”
Armed Forces champion, Cllr Kevin Foster, who was on the judging panel, said: “As a service child I am aware of some of the different challenges the children face. I was honoured to be asked to be part of the judges panel it was not an easy task, but we got there in the end.
“I would like to thank the organisers who I think did a great job and congratulate all the children nominated for awards not just the winners.”
Our champion for young people, Cllr Alyson Baker, added: “North Yorkshire has a long and proud history of supporting the Armed Forces community and it is a privilege to see service children who face so many challenges in their day-to-day lives being honoured in this way. Congratulations to all the worthy winners and their families.”
Here is a full list of the award winners:
- Inspirational Service Child of the Year – Finley Macrae.
- Service Children Advocate – Stacey Johnson, Risedale School.
- Service Children Friendly Education Provider – Carnagill Primary School.
- Service Children Friendly Community Group – Service Children’s Community Choir.
- Service Children Friendly Business – Lazer Cheer.
- Sporting Champion – Lacey and Sienna Hanson (cheerleaders).
- Creative Champion – Scarlett Charlton.
- Community Champion – Navaeh Boggs.
- Caring Champion – Kelsey Haighton.