Community hub The Nest has been announced as this year's winner of the Outstanding Commitment to Sport award, sponsored by The Centre of Excellence for Sport, Outdoor Leadership and Uniformed Services at Easton College, at the Norfolk Education Awards.

Located in Horsford, The Nest is the Community Sports Foundation’s hub. It is a fantastic sporting facility that hosts groups for all ages, encouraging everyone to get into sport.

The 22-acre site has a range of facilities including a floodlit 3G pitch and high-quality grass football pitches. It provides a wide range of groups and classes to suit all tastes and abilities; these include kids’ football courses, walking football, group exercise classes and free mental wellbeing focused running groups.

The Nest’s aim is not just to provide access to sport and high-quality facilities for all, but it also prides itself on being its own community which supports and enhances the wider sporting community across Norfolk.

The judges said that The Nest “demonstrated strong evidence of its commitment to providing activities through the community and for all age groups”.

They also noted the wide range of courses offered by the hub and added that the free mental health focused activities in particular “are increasingly important today”.

Stevie Bramble, director of education & programmes at The Nest, had this to say on the win: “It means a lot for The Nest in terms of how far we’ve come in the last four to five years as a venue that started off as a derelict piece of grass.

“It’s really a reward for all the partners that have helped us get there. Whether it’s those that have donated financially, those that have climbed mountains and ran 10k races to raise funds to build it.

“The Nest is a venue, of course it is. But the magic that happens is because of the people that work with the young people that we’re engaging with.”

For more information on the Norfolk Education Awards, please visit the website.

To find out more about all of this year's winners, please click here.

About the sponsor

Easton College will launch a new Centre of Excellence for Sport, Outdoor Leadership and Uniformed Services in 2024, building on the college’s outstanding reputation, facilities and partnerships in these areas.

The college delivers a curriculum that is focused on students securing a future in the sports industry – both for aspiring professional sportsmen and sportswomen and for those who want to work in coaching, sports therapy and the roles available in sports management and administration.

The new Centre of Excellence aims to challenge minds, inspire success and secure futures by harnessing the superb facilities, sharing expertise and building on the strong relationships with employers in the sports, outdoor activity and uniformed services sectors.

The finalists

Athletics Norfolk

Athletics Norfolk works strategically with key partners to develop the sport of athletics, including track and field, road running, cross country and disability athletics.

It works with schools and delivers additional programmes at venues around the county, including its Quadkids athletics programme, and also organises a two-day county championship, school championships and open meetings throughout the year.

The judges were pleased to see how Athletics Norfolk holds open meetings “to encourage new potential athletes to try out different events”, in addition to its specialist work with schools and its championships.

Wymondham High Academy

Wymondham High Academy has established a sports department that promotes opportunity, equality and aspirational ideas.

It encourages students to participate at all levels and try different activities and also invites professional athletes to talk to, inspire and coach students – a programme which has proved hugely popular in helping students focus on sport.

Noting Wymondham High Academy’s aim “to get students of all levels to participate and try different activities”, the judges were also impressed by the amount of extra-curricular activities that it offers to students.