EDUCATION
attention on those who need additional catch-up support. The Perse students from year 10 are engaged in mentoring children aged as young as four and five, with around 40 recently spending a day at two local primary schools (Queen Edith and Queen Emma), working with pupils to complete a series of challenges. Further up the school, pupils in year 11 visit another local primary school regularly during the academic year to help not just in the classroom, but in the school as a whole. “Essentially, they act as an extra helper or mentor,” discloses assistant head Richard Morgan, who leads on the school’s community outreach work. They aren’t only classroom-based, but ‘help in whatever way they can’. This could span learning how to laminate (an in-school essential) to working in the school office, while a recent large-scale initiative involved collecting and cataloguing several hundred books, to help get the school’s new-look library up and running. A major project involves upper
sixth pupils in their final year at The Perse, when community partnership work is part of their timetable and – for most – again involves working in local schools. “It might be that they are engaging in music, maths, modern languages and art – we’ve got a whole range of different projects,” adds Richard. Helping others is also stressed at The Leys School, where service takes many different forms. “From
© THE PERSE
BEARING GIFTS Fundraisers like Link to Hope (below left) or Glow the Distance (above) create bonds between The Perse and its community; a pupil from The Leys coaches Great Abington Primary students (left)
working towards Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards to volunteering in primary schools, pupils are increasingly being encouraged to give back,” says the school. As part of their Personal Development, Service and Leadership programme, lower sixth pupils at The Leys School have found themselves – among other things – helping at a community orchard, getting involved in the pioneering Premier League Kicks programme – designed to make it easier for children from deprived backgrounds to participate in sport – assisting in local charity shops and giving time to after- school clubs. Plus, together with their teachers, some have been creating their own canvases as part of a fundraising art exhibition held at the school. It ignites in students a desire to effect positive change
© THE PERSE
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2023 47
Powered by FlippingBook