KS2 pupils from St Peter’s CE Primary School, Chorley were inspired to ‘be the change they want to see’ through taking part in the Archbishop’s Young Leaders Award.

The pupils identified food poverty as an issue in their own local community and one that affected families in their school. They decided to set up their own food bank in school. They discussed how they could gather food for their school family and decided to write letters to a number of large supermarkets in the area and a local shop.

Unfortunately, they didn’t receive any response from the large supermarkets but they did receive a generous donation of food and drinks from a local family run shop. Although the pupils were disappointed not to secure ongoing donations from supermarkets they came up with a creative solution to allow them to maintain and stock their food bank.

They decided to create a Christmas gift shop with donations and gifts left from previous school events. Children in school were invited to purchase gifts for family members and gift wrap them in school.  The shop was very popular and the money raised was used to purchase stock for their school food shop to be sold at a discounted price.

The young leaders open the shop on Thursday and Friday each week and are responsible for setting up and managing the shop which is proving very popular! The money received is used to purchase more stock.

Some of the young leaders shared their reflections on their project:

"Now I have gained confidence."

"I have made loads of people happy and I see this when they visit."

"I am proud of everything I have done to help."

The pupils continue to plan other events in school and to look for new ways to gain support and donations from businesses and organisations to keep their project running sustainably.

Their teacher shared that through the AYLA these “pupils have become more confident and have enjoyed working together. They have enjoyed taking part in discussions and shown maturity when doing so. As a group they have become more resilient.”

This project is a fantastic example of young leaders showing compassion for others and meeting a need in their immediate school community!

‍