Ashley wins a city award for helping her fellow pupils

Ashley Henderson helps girls in Dundee recognise healthy relationships and talk about sexual abuse and harassment.

Now the Baldragon Academy pupil’s work with the Oor Fierce Girls movement has won her the Lord Provost McManus Citizenship Award for 2022.

As a founding member of the Dundee campaign, Ashley, 17, helped develop toolkits to aid conversations about abuse and toxic relationships.

So when the winner of the citizenship award – presented to a Dundee pupil in recognition of work in school and the wider community – was announced at a ceremony in St Paul’s Academy,

Ashley was the worthy winner.

Runners-up were Samantha Bruce of Craigie High School and Casey Small of St Paul’s Academy.

Ashley, who is heading to Strathclyde University to study English and journalism in September, was commended for being an excellent role model to pupils at Baldragon and for her drive and determination.

She said she was surprised to win and that the other nominees had done “incredible work”, but she added: “I am immensely proud of myself.”

Winning the prize, she said, helped to validate and publicise the work of Oor Fierce Girls, an experience she said had enriched her own final years in school as well as

empowering countless other girls.

She said: “It’s been the driving force for so much positivity in my life, and winning this award is the cherry on top of that cake.”

It was in June last year that she helped to launch the Oor Fierce Girls toolkits with other girls and young women from Dundee schools, Dundee and Angus

College and Dundee University.

The kits provide materials to enable conversations about sexual abuse and relationship concerns, and ensure girls know where to go for help.

Oor Fierce Girls is a joint project between NSPCC Scotland, Dundee City Council and YWCA Scotland, the Young Women’s Movement.

WINNERS: Casey Small, Ashley Henderson and Samantha Bruce with their awards. Picture by Kim Cessford.

Proud mum Hannah with overall winner Ashley.