Last week, four students in Years 8 and 10 at Central Academy received a special visit from local MP John Stevenson who congratulated the students on the success of their social action project. 

The students’ project, designed to raise awareness of child abuse, formed part of their involvement in AQA Unlocking Potential, a national mentoring programme delivered by education charity AQA in partnership with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. 

Over the past few months, the team of students – made up of Maizey, Frankie, Bailey and Hayden – have worked with their athlete mentor and championship skateboarder, Neil Danns, to deliver assemblies to their peers on what child abuse means, signs to be aware of and how to seek help.

They have also evaluated the impact of their project and reflected on how they could improve it to most benefit those in need. 

Also last week, ahead of Mr Stevenson’s visit, the students attended a celebration event in London to mark the end of the project.

There, they joined together with 120 students from across the UK to celebrate their collective efforts and take part in a range of team building activities.

The students heard from Ben Hilton, the CEO of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, and Colin Hughes, the CEO of AQA, and received certificates and prizes in recognition of the positive impact their projects have had. 

Year 10 student Hayden said: “The programme has taught us teamwork and confidence. Neil made it fun, even at times when it was challenging. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to London – this was a great reward for our hard work and determination over the past few months.” 

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Iona Kyle, PE teacher and Wellbeing and Mental Health Coordinator at Central Academy, said:  “Receiving congratulations from our local MP Mr Stevenson and attending the celebration event in London was the culmination of several months of hard work by Maizey, Frankie, Bailey and Hayden.

The students were absolutely delighted to meet other young people who took part in the initiative and get the opportunity to celebrate their efforts. 

“At Central Academy, we believe that experiences like this are so important to enable our students to grow in confidence, learn new skills and take on new challenges and responsibilities. The project has really opened our students’ eyes to what they can achieve if they work hard and in a team. 

"Congratulations once again to the students and a big thank you also to Neil, whose support, guidance and encouragement was invaluable.”