in Derby that were funded by an interested company. Student protest On 24 November 2010, Highfields students staged a demonstration as part of a nationwide student protest day against the government's scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance and decision to raise the cap on university tuition fees. Up to 300 students walked out of classes and marched, escorted by police, first to the Local Education Authority headquarters at County Hall and then onto Matlock town centre. Sports Leadership Academy The school's Physical Education department was presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service – the equivalent to an MBE for organisations – in June 2010 by HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, accompanied by Olympic badminton player Donna Kellogg, for its 'Sports Leadership Academy', co-ordinated by Jayne Allen. Sports Leaders UK later announced the school's academy was to be the first ever academy to reach 'World Leader' status for leadership and volunteering. Olympic torch The school was visited by the Olympic torch relay in June 2012, the school forming the relay's 'lunch stop' as it traveled through Derbyshire. A commemorative stone at the school marks the occasion. A student carried the torch later that day in Derby, whilst the academy's coordinator carried the Paralympic torch. Notable alumni Isy Suttie, comedian, actress, writer and musician Ben Ottewell, singer-songwriter of the indie-rock band Gomez, winners of the 1998 Mercury Prize Matt Chandler and Tom Marriott, guitarist and trombonist respectively, of the funk band Pest Christopher Peach, who achieved notoriety as a 15-year-old when his underage dealings on the stock market were discovered as a result of Black Monday Ellie Watton, retired field hockey player and winner of Olympic, European & Commonwealth medals References External links School website Secondary schools in Derbyshire Academies in Derbyshire Educational institutions established in 1982 Matlock, Derbyshire