Superstar Cumbrians have made it onto 2023’s prestigious New Year’s Honours list.

Recipients in the list have been awarded for their ‘outstanding contributions’ across all parts of the UK for their work in areas including sustained public service, youth engagement and community work.

One such recipient is Penrith’s Nigel Roper, chair of the Western Excellence in Learning and Leadership (WELL) project, who has been recognised for his services to education.

He has chaired several school and educational boards and was appointed to the board of WELL in 2019.

On receiving an MBE, he said: “'I was very surprised to get the call.

“It never occurred to me that I might receive an honour, but I am delighted to accept it, not necessarily for myself but for all those who have worked with me in the education and charity sector over the last 20-plus years."

Another recipient of an MBE for services to education is north Cumbrian Marie Hamer, who is an executive director of the Ambition Institute.

Ambition Institute is a national education charity which says it aims to help schools tackle educational disadvantages, and make sure every child gets a great education and the best possible start in life.

Marie leads their strategy and impact division overseeing all programme design, their research and insights functions, and their organisational strategy and planning.

Explaining her background, she said: “I was a teacher, I trained in London, in a very deprived area.

“I moved from that into training new teachers, and this developed when I was at Ark Schools when we set up their training division, and along with Matt Hood we founded a teaching development organisation to focus on developing expert teachers, and that was the organisation that merged with another one in 2018 to form Ambition."

On receiving the MBE, she said: "I was totally surprised, I was not expecting it at all, whoever expects to get something like this?

"I guess the main thing I thought was these MBEs are obviously given to individuals and they are an individual honour, but no-one ever achieves anything on their own. It’s really on behalf of the whole team that has helped them to achieve things, to learn, and get better."

Penrith’s Eve Pattinson has received an MBE for services to charity as the founder of the Riding for the Disabled Eden Group.

She explained: “We started 40 years ago, as a driving group.

“They drove in what was at that time a box on wheels, but things have advanced since then.

“Local schools asked us if we could provide riding, and we started by giving schoolchildren from then-called North Lakes school and the Senior School from Ullswater riding lessons.

“We've had children from Appleby, Warcop, and Kirkby Stephen.”

Similarly to Marie, Eve said: “I'm a bit gobsmacked, to be honest.

“Riding for the Disabled is not an individual thing, it’s very much a group thing.

“If you don't have volunteers coming every week to help you can't do anything."