Jubilee Honours List 2022: These are the 10 South Yorkshire individuals honoured by Queen Elizabeth

The list, which is to mark the 96-year-old monarch's official birthday, honours over 1,100 recipients for their 'outstanding' contributions towards the community across all sectors.

A total of 10 individuals from Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley have made the honour list which consists of Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and Medallists of the Order of the British Empire.

Sheffield Hallam University Professor Babak Akhgar, the Director of Centre for Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research (Centric), who is being honoured for his research in security has been made an OBE - the second highest ranking of the British Empire Award.

Describing the award as 'an absolute privilege and honour', Prof Akhgar said: "It's also a recognition of the colleagues and people who are actually working at Centric and Sheffield Hallam University, so the award is not just for me.

"This goes to my fantastic colleagues who have enabled us to get to this point and made Centric one of the most successful centres of excellence in security research in Europe and I'm very proud of that."

The 50-year-old professor joined Sheffield Hallam University in 1999 and has been with Centric for 11 years since its inception.

‘Deeply thrilled’

Joining him on the OBE list is Yiannis Koursis, Barnsley College Principal and chief executive in recognition of his services to further education.

Yiannis’s wide-ranging expertise with colleges across the UK includes more than 14 years in senior further education leadership and he has spent close to a decade working extensively with voluntary charitable services.

Following three years as deputy principal for development, Yiannis was appointed to his post in January 2019 and he has worked tirelessly to reinforce the college’s position as a force for opportunity and growth.

The college this year received an outstanding rating from Ofsted and is a national Association of Colleges Beacon Award winner.

Yiannis turned his vision for a scitech digital innovation hub for every student, addressing digital poverty across the region, into a reality with a landmark Barnsley College development officially opened in 2021 by education secretary Nadhim Zahawi.

He said: “I am deeply thrilled, and humbled, to have been recommended to receive this Honour and would like to express my gratitude to those who nominated me.

"This honour recognises one’s contribution to public service - but how can you ever make a transformational difference without the strong support of those around you?

"So, I would like to say a huge thank you to my family and to everyone who has enabled me to do what I am proud to say I love doing.”

A 47-year-old ice skater from Sheffield has also done the city proud after being awarded the British Empire Medal for dedicating her time to helping ice skaters continue to practise despite the closure of ice rinks during lockdowns.

Kelly Buddery devised and delivered an online off ice exercise programme specifically aimed at skaters (but open to all) enabling them to not only maintain their strength, but also significantly improve their mental health by making them feel still part of a community.

She also used her access to her wide audience to do charitable fundraising providing for those hardest hit by Covid by donating session fees to charities.

This year alone, she raised over £4,000 in total by rallying charitable support for local causes and at the same time works closely with British Ice Skating supporting them in spotting and nurturing new talent.

‘Historic’ Platinum Jubilee

Other OBE recipients are: Jane Fearnley from Sheffield, who is the chief executive and executive headteacher at Willow Tree Academy Trust (services to education), philanthropist, Tariq Navid Shah from Doncaster (services to charity), and Doreen (Dotty) Watkins, head of quality and governance maternity, Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust (services to midwifery).

Meanwhile, the recipients for MBE are: Dr Deborah Bullivant from Sheffield who is the founder and chief executive, Grimm and Co, for her services to children and young people's literacy in Rotherham, Leah Higginbottom, local ward and parish councillor for her voluntary service in Barnsley, and Dr Rupert Suckling, director of public health at Doncaster Council for his services to Public Health during Covid-19.

A medal of the Order of the British Empire has also been awarded to Frada Wilenski from Sheffield, for her services to the community in the city.

The Jubilee Honours List also recognises the contribution made to youth engagement, as typified by 11 year old twins Elena and Ruben Evans-Guillen, who receive BEMs for raising nearly £50,000 directly for the NHS and NHS-related charities over the past three years, and who are the youngest recipients on the List.

Also among the youngest recipients is 22 year old Alex Griffiths, who receives a BEM for supporting carers, having been a young carer himself since the age of five.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This historic Platinum Jubilee is not only a celebration of the monarch but of the qualities she possesses.

"The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities that have been invaluable from all different walks of life and to communities across the UK.

“I pay tribute to all of this year’s winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all.”