The Salopian Summer 2023

SCHOOL NEWS 61
Hall) have been dedicated volunteers at our Homework Club:
“We really love helping out at our Homework Club and
working with younger refugees whilst their older brothers and
sisters work hard on their Maths and English with our friends.
We take time to entertain the younger children with puzzles,
art and spelling games, trying to make learning fun and help
support their primary school learning. When we hear the
stories these children tell us about their backgrounds, it makes
us want to work even harder to help them and we are really
proud to help out with this activity. We strongly urge other
students to get involved and come and help.”
I am delighted to share positive feedback from our local
contacts, demonstrating the strong impact our students are
making. Adrian, General Manager of the Mount Care Home,
writes:
“Our residents are more content and happier when your
students visit. The engagement levels increase greatly for our
residents and they are more active. We have a few people
with early onset dementia and the first signs are confusion
and short-term memory loss. It seems that these issues are
not noticeable during these student visits, it is like they take
full control of their cognition and wellbeing. The only thing
we can change is adding more visits from your students.
Please let the students know they are making a huge positive
difference to people`s existence.”
Karen, Team Leader from the local Foodbank, has frequently
commented on the impact our students make:
“The girls work hard each week, preparing for the busiest
session of foodbank the following day. They prepare parcels
and their contents, like bagging up sugar, tea bags and
washing powder. They also replenish the shelves and ensure
there is enough stock out ready for the following morning.
Their presence is invaluable as they ensure we have a head
start on Friday morning.”
Emma Hellyer, Governor at The Martin Wilson School writes:
“Thank you so much for setting up support for The Martin
Wilson School. At a recent Governor meeting, the new
partnership was highlighted as a real positive at an otherwise
extremely challenging time for the school.”
In particular, a huge well done to Phoebe Carter, Ollie Sharp
and Joss Gowar for their recognition at the High Sheriff’s
Outstanding Young Citizen Awards Ceremony, held at
Telford College, for their volunteering and fundraising efforts
over the last couple of years. They were all recognised
in the Volunteering and Community Service category for
their dedication to society. A special mention must go to
Joss Gowar, who was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ – the
highest prize in this category – for his continuous work at the
Foodbank, help at Restart Kenya, fundraising and previous
work for Global Social Leaders.
Naomi Pritchard
Head of Volunteering