Pupils set to appear at top event with Prince Harry as guest

Pupils perform Jeremy Kyle to win £ 3k for charity

Excited youngsters are the first in Ayrshire to be invited to a prestigious national event in the presence of royalty.

Girvan Academy pupils have been involved with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative ( YPI) programme which encourages young people to consider social issues within their community and ways to tackle or improve on these. And not only was it their first year entering the programme but pupils have now been invited to the national event in Perth where Prince Harry is set to attend. The school’s finalists consisted of four groups engaging with a charity of their choice, putting together a performance on a social issue which that charity aims to address. The pupils were competing to win £ 3000 for their charities which were The Ayrshire Hospice, Women’s Aid, Age Concern and Moving On Ayrshire. The winning S2 Bargany house group’s inventive and creative spin on The Jeremy Kyle Show won them £ 3000 for Women’s Aid. Lesley Crawford, English teacher at the school has been the lead teacher involved with the YPI programme. She said: “This is the first year we’ve ever done it so I really had to do a bit of research. “Pupils had to present for five minutes and they could do it in any way they wanted. “The YPI try to encourage creativity so the winning group actually did a take on the Jeremy Kyle Show but called it the JJ Kyle Show. “So they made a film for part of it and then they had someone playing a woman from Women’s Aid saying what they would do and how they’d intervene and help. “And then they had another performance live on stage which was like the Jeremy Kyle Show - someone coming on for help and the mothers coming out and causing a fight. “We were really worried how it was going to go down but then were really surprised when the Regional Development Officer actually said it was the best she’d seen for a long time! “And that she was going to put it forward to appear in the final in this big national event.” The national event will see other schools from the country showcasing their performances, in which Girvan Academy will re- enact theirs. Lesley add: “It’s supposed to be a really big event. “Prince Harry has been invited but we don’t know if he’s going to appear yet because it’s quite soon after he gets married.” The winning team presented the cheque of £ 3000 to Women’s Aid on Monday, April 30.