We are so excited to have made it through to the final of the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards, in recognition of our students’ commmunity work.
Our team was Abbie Gilligan, William Turner, William Solomon, Connie Horbury, Ben Dylan and Sophia O’Connor, who presented on behalf of all our students and student leaders. Last week the team competed in the regional team will compete for the national title this autumn against a selection of schools from across England.
Ben, Connie, Sophia and Will presented several of our activities including our eco turtle, our project with Bryan Wood care home residents and our community events, explaining how activities like these have built a school culture of making a difference.
As well as the impact on the local community, the students talked about their own personal development. Abbie described how she has gained so much confidence through her experiences at Ryburn, moving from a painfully shy Year 7 to becoming our Head Girl.
Will T talked about how our student leadership programme empowers students to come up with their own initiatives, like his covid ‘Help from Home’ fundraiser.
Will S talked about the impressive work he now does outside of school with the Regional Youth Climate Assembly and Youth Council, and how he credits the confidence and encouragement he found at Ryburn as the root of that.
“The work and influence that Ryburn has, extends well beyond 3:15pm, or our results day. Because that’s what a school should be, more than a 5-year preparation for exams, a smile and a wave then leaving you with nothing else. A school should and MUST build up confidences and let you expand to other things. And Ryburn, in all that it does, has that at its core.”
The students gave a powerful presentation in front of a panel of six judges, including Judith Cobham-Lowe OBE, a Liveryman and former Prime Warden (equivalent to Chair) of the Goldsmiths’ Company. We were so proud of how confidently they performed and how they handled being ‘put on the spot’ for the Q&A.
The judges praised our team for the quality of their presenting and commented that there was a clear impact of the community programme not only for the local and school community, but also on the learning and development opportunities of the students involved.
“Why an Award? It’s simple really. Schools (rightly) focus on their academic records and pupil exam grades. But we all know when we’re recruiting those same students a few years later, it’s the interesting ones, who’ve achieved something more than the right number of starred GCSE’s and A levels, you want working for you. Yet all this effort is rarely mentioned, let alone recognised.”
The Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards were launched in 2019. The awards, which are student-led, celebrate the positive impact schools have through charitable and voluntary initiatives within their local communities.
Commenting on why the Goldsmiths’ Company had created the award, Judith said:
“These activities are of vital importance to many people, but often go unrecognised. The Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Award recognises the unsung heroes in schools up and down the country – young people who have given their time, energy and ideas to outstanding initiatives that support our local communities.”
As regional finalists our students have now been invited to the magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall in London for a ceremony in November and a chance to showcase our community engagement activities. A gold winner and a silver winner will be announced on the day of the finals. The winning schools will each receive a beautiful award, especially designed by the artist-craftsman Tom Fattorini, as well as a cash prize to support the continuation and expansion of existing community programmes.
We can’t wait!