Students at Olive High School in Burnley have been supporting the homeless during Ramadan as part of their Young Leaders Award. Olive High School is an independent Muslim school for girls, and they have been running the KS3 award with their students for the past two years.

‘The Award has enabled the students to develop a strong sense of empathy and compassion through their community projects and build lasting meaningful relationships.’ KS3 AYLA Teacher

The students took part in a variety of activities to help those in need, including serving hot meals to the homeless and creating winter warmer packs which were then distributed to local homeless shelters.

‘The Action projects have allowed me to help the community and increased my understanding of what the needs of my community are.’ KS3 Young Leader

The students also improved their local environment, encouraging their families to get involved in a litter pick and developing a local green space, tidying, planting and making the area look more inviting for everyone.

The Young Leaders Award enables pupils to learn by example through studying inspirational leaders and evaluating how they see themselves as leaders. The students are introduced to a range of activities in the classroom as well as getting involved in improving the lives of people at home, at school and in the local community. It has had a significant impact on the students at Olive High School.

‘The students have gained a wide variety of skills that have enabled them to become stronger in their characters and more resilient. They can communicate more confidently and have built strong relationships out of their normal friendship groups. They are aware of how teamwork requires input from a wide range of people and how everyone's voice and opinions matter. The Award has enabled the girls to establish a growth mindset where they believe that they can achieve whatever they want to. ‘ KS3 AYLA Teacher

To find out more about the Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award, please click here

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