EDUCATION
© THE PERSE
that’s set to continue. For Omar Khan at Stoke College, the fact that pupils build resilience and determination is a major benefit. Pupils undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award gain a huge amount along the way. “They are forced to take on new skills, play sport and learn all the leadership skills that come with that – they learn to be part of a team.” While community service can take many forms, expectations still remain consistently high. The Leys explains: “It’s about contributing your time for free and, in return, gaining expertise.” This is from a school where pupils receive regular feedback about how conscientiously and thoroughly their work has been completed. What’s more, serving the community can make a school’s presence even more tangible and accessible. “At The Perse, you see the gates as you drive past – but you don’t really see the school,” explains Richard Morgan. “Being able to create those links just helps to demystify the school a little bit. Bringing pupils and the staff into contact with members of the community and people at other schools helps to build some bonds – and everyone benefits.” Perhaps most important of all is the sense of achievement pupils experience, he continues. “There’s a certain unfiltered joy that comes from taking on a mentoring role. The happiness that spreads on both sides and the relationships that can be built give our pupils an understanding that, by helping others, you are helping to develop yourself as well.”
SUMMIT DIFFERENT Pupils from The Perse (top) and The Leys (above) get out and about on their respective outreach initiatives both near and far
schools’ ambitions don’t just involve the local community, but stretch well beyond. The Perse, for example, has developed free-to-enter competitions for schools both in the UK and overseas. In addition to their very popular coding competition – which attracts ever more entries each year from a range of schools – the Aristotelian Award, an essay-based competition, is inspiring year 9 pupils to develop their independent research skills. Senior pupils at The Perse are even involved in the shortlisting process. “It’s all about broadening our educational reach and sharing our expertise to create something pupils can do independently, regardless of what provision is in their schools,” says Richard Morgan. Community service isn’t just alive and well, but thriving in our area’s schools. And given just how much pupils gain from it,
The tasks can be hands-on, and that’s all part of the experience. The Leys pupils might be involved in work like ‘counting jigsaw puzzle pieces, alphabetising fiction books, steaming clothes, cleaning garden chairs and pruning apple trees’. At Stoke College, meanwhile, a proposed initiative to grow and harvest everything from pears to herbs will see pupils learning to harvest, store, promote and sell a range of home-grown produce. While it’s still early days, says Omar Khan, this could bring a whole new dimension to community service. “Students can tend to the gardens, supervised by the maintenance team, extract juice, feature the produce in food technology, sell it and even talk to the public at markets.” In an area notable for its energy and innovation, it’s no surprise to hear that
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