Dixons Unity Academy students win prestigious King’s Trust award
Posted 27th June 2025
We are thrilled to announce that two students from Dixons Unity Academy, Nathan Campbell and Ronnie Walters, have won the King’s Trust JD Foundation Community Impact Award!
The awards celebrate inspirational young people across the UK who have overcome significant personal challenges and are now helping to build better futures for themselves and their communities. Nathan and Ronnie have done exactly that.
Their journey began in 2020, when they entered Year 7 during the first national lockdown. Like many students, they faced the daunting challenge of starting secondary school remotely, isolated from classmates and adapting to a new learning environment through screens. The experience was difficult, but it became a catalyst for something extraordinary.
In Year 9, as part of their BTEC Business Studies course, Nathan and Ronnie were challenged to create an ethical business. Drawing from their own experience of isolation, they knew what their community needed most: connection.
That idea became Unity Community, a student-led initiative that started in a disused woodwork room and has since grown into a thriving community hub. Now based in the school's old library, Unity Community opens its doors every Friday to welcome students, parents, local residents, and young families.
Visitors can enjoy free tea, coffee, and food donated by local partners including Aldi, Morrisons, and Greggs. There are toys for children, a school uniform and clothing swap, and, most importantly, a warm and welcoming space to feel part of something.
Nathan and Ronnie, now 16, have shown compassion, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to others, qualities that truly embody the spirit of the King’s Trust Awards.
We are incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved, and can’t wait to see what they do next. Congratulations, Nathan and Ronnie!
Hear more of their story here and find out more about Unity Community here.