It was an emotional day in July 2022 at Bede Academy in Blyth, Ellen’s school, with the presentation of the inaugural Ellen Raffell Star Scientist Award. We presented this to an amazing young woman, Aylsha Harris, who is an outstanding physics/maths student and a worthy winner. We are so proud that Ellen continues to be an inspiration to young scientists.
We would also like to thank Bede Academy for the beautiful Memorial Tree planted at the front of the school in her honour. The Weeping Cherry Blossom is going to look fabulous as it grows with beautiful pink flowers flowing to the ground….a lasting memory of our beautiful daughter, Ellen
Dedication to Ellen by Mr Andrew Thelwell, Principal, Bede Academy:
Today, for the first time, we are presenting an award in honour of Ellen Raffell. Ellen was, and will always be, a treasured member of the Bede Family. She personified the virtues we uphold as an Academy: from the love she showed to her family – especially sister Abbey – and her friends, to the humility and integrity she showed in her work.
Ellen had a passion for Science and her ambition was to literally, ‘reach for the stars’ in her fascination with space and astronomy. It is a mark of her family’s strength and selflessness, that they now wish to support other girls in the pursuit of such dreams, and it is therefore particularly fitting that the first recipient of the Ellen Raffell Star Award is also a young lady who is passionate about Physics .
The words of her Physics teacher, make clear why our first recipient is a worthy winner:
You know that wide-eyed look of wonder and pure joy? The kind of look a kid would make as they walked into Disney Land? The look you’d wear whilst watching a beautiful sunset over the ocean? You know the look I mean. Well, that is Aylsha’s look when she learns a new piece of physics. It’s true – physics brings joy to Aylsha like a theme park brings joy to a child.
Aylsha laps up cutting edge ideas on quantum mechanics and cosmology. She thrives on the fascinating details that make our universe tick. She goes above and beyond the A-level syllabus. Regularly, Aylsha has hung back after class to enquire about topics that have sparked her interest. Relativity, wave particle duality and most recently gravitational lensing of distant galaxies have all captured her imagination.
What’s more, Aylsha has the mathematical skills to successfully tackle the trickiest problems physics can throw at her. It is not uncommon for her to solve questions using mathematical techniques I would never have dreamt of using. Aylsha is planning to continue her studies of physics at University. She’ll surely shine.