School wins citizenship award
A Sunderland school is celebrating clinching an award for its life-changing work.
Grindon Hall Christian School has been appointed an NCS North East Star School for outstanding work in changing lives through the youth movement National Citizen Service (NCS).
As part of the NCS programme Grindon Hall students took part in a number of placements including working with a homeless charity in Hendon and organising a charity gig at a venue in town.
Students also had the opportunity to take part in residential placements in the Lake District, which included outdoor activities designed to challenge pupils, promote team work and develop confidence in their problem solving skills.
The school picked up the award at the NCS North East Star Schools Awards 2017 which recognised the support and commitment that schools provided to the government-backed scheme during the past academic year.
Twelve schools, one from each local authority in the region, picked up an award in recognition of their successes in encouraging their pupils to take part in the transformative scheme.
With school support, almost 4,000 of the region’s teenagers were empowered to make change in their communities through NCS this summer.
Joanne Maw, Principal, and Sarah Campbell, Head of Year 11, were presented with the award by Matt Hill from category sponsor The Foundation of Light, alongside NCS recruitment coordinator Darren Crawley and two of the school’s students, and NCS graduates, Charlie Louise Carr and Sam French.
Ms Maw said: “We are honoured to accept this prestigious award, which reflects the dedication of our young people in supporting their local community.
“Each and every one of our NCS graduates has made a positive contribution and gained skills that will last them a lifetime; we look forward to working in collaboration with NCS in the future.”
Jessica Taplin, CEO of V•Inspired, who deliver the NCS contract across the North East, said: “It was a pleasure to spend the evening celebrating the achievements of dedicated schools and the amazing pupils who seized the opportunity to learn new skills and contribute so much in support of local charities.”
Any students interested in the NCS experience should visit the website at NCSYES.co.uk or call 0191 247 4020 to find out more.
“We are honoured to accept this prestigious award” JOANNE MAW