270 pupils from Trinity School in Carlisle have recently completed the Key Stage 3 Young Leaders Award (YLA), having accomplished an accumulated total of 2,500 hours of volunteering through community social action projects.

This is Trinity’s 4th cohort of Young Leaders to complete the programme, running alongside a smaller group of pupils completing the KS4 Award. The YLA is a fully resourced leadership and character education programme designed to both enhance and form part of the school curriculum, engaging pupils in new learning experiences, whilst developing leadership skills and character virtues. The YLA also gives young people the opportunity to put their learning into action by serving their local communities.

This year as part of their YLA community social action project, the Trinity Young Leaders took part in the Carlisle’s ‘Give a Day to the City’ scheme, spreading across the city to serve their communities.

Over the course of the day the Young Leaders ran many projects including, a ‘Tea on the Green’ for local residents, taking thank you packages to the nurses and doctors of their local hospital, helping Surfers Against Sewage with a clean-up at their local beach, making-over a local community garden and more.

The day had a hugely positive effect on the community, many of whom mentioned how grateful they were for the Young Leaders’ generosity and kindness.

Several of the Young Leaders who chose the visit the Cumberland Infirmary to visit the nurses and doctors were blown away by the responses they had for giving out thank-you packages. The Young Leaders had previously been given £1 and were challenged to increase the pound as much as possible to help support their community project. Some students had made up to £80, which funded the packages handed out to the staff of the hospital.

“Earlier this morning, in between a busy spell, I looked up to find a small group of your students, with a member of your staff, patiently waiting to give me a small gift to enjoy at my earliest convenience along with some kind words of gratitude. What a lovely gesture this was, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated receiving this. The group also gave a KitKat and teabag gift to some of my colleagues.”

Nurse, The Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle

The Young Leaders were in touch with hundreds of members of their local community that day, showing the power that young people have to make a difference to those around them.

Other Young Leaders put on a ‘Tea on the Green’ in a local residential area, inviting the community to come and join them for a cup of tea and piece of cake. The Young Leaders really enjoyed meeting people from lots of different generations, playing games with them and hearing their stories.

“I would like to give a big thank you to your pupils. They provided tea on the green at Willow Park today and did so with lovely smiles. They seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. Really lovely young people, a credit to your school and to themselves.”

Local Resident visiting the Tea on the Green

One project that had a huge benefit on the Young Leaders was the visit to Houghton’s Farm. Year 8 SEND pupils from Trinity School visited the farm, gaining experience of manual work like clearing out stables and working with animals. Susan, the owner of Houghton Farm, thoroughly enjoyed sharing the day with the Young Leaders.

Elizabeth Howat, Director of the YLA said:

“Trinity School’s Young Leaders have done a fantastic job of putting the leadership skills and character virtues they have learnt about through the YLA into practice, using them to support their local community. Not only has their confidence in their abilities grown, but they have had a hugely positive impact on those that live around them.”

To find out more about the YLA and to sign your school up, visit abyyt.com/young-leaders-award or contact Elizabeth on elizabeth.howat@abyyt.com.

‍