Councillors to Consider Freedom of the City for Heroine Lisa

3rd December 2021

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Councillors in Wolverhampton will be asked to consider bestowing the honour of Freedom of the City to Lisa Potts in recognition of her exceptional bravery and charity work. Lisa, a former nursery teacher, was proclaimed as a heroine in 1996 when she protected children in her care from a machete-wielding attacker who burst into St Luke’s Primary School, Blakenhall. Aged just 21 at the time, she suffered severe injuries to her head, back and both arms as she prevented the attacker from reaching the children she was shielding. Her bravery was acknowledged by Her Majesty the Queen who awarded Lisa the George Medal. Since the attack, Lisa has done considerable charity work and founded the charity Believe 2 Achieve in 2001 which aims to encourage independence and increase self-esteem in children. Next Friday (DEC 10), members of City of Wolverhampton Council’s governance and ethics committee will be asked to recommend that the authority convenes an extraordinary meeting of the full council to bestow freedom of the city to Lisa. It comes after a nomination to honour her was received by the council and is supported by the Mayor, Cllr Greg Brackenridge, leader of the council, Cllr Ian Brookfield and leader of the opposition, Cllr Wendy Thompson. If the committee approves the recommendation, an extraordinary meeting of the Full Council will be convened in the new year to formally confer the honour and a celebration event will also be held. Freedom of the City is the highest honour the council can bestow upon any individual and is only awarded to ‘persons of distinction and those who have rendered eminent services to the city’.

The most recent recipients of the honour were football legend Steve Bull and singer Beverley Knight in 2018.

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