Bolton School has made it through to the finals of the Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards, where a team will compete for the national title on the 25th June 2019 against five other schools from across England.
The Bolton School team was shortlisted in recognition of the work that has been undertaken in the local community.
In a regional final, pupils were asked to give an 8 minute presentation on their programme of work in front of a panel of five judges, including Judith Cobham-Lowe OBE, a Liveryman and former Prime Warden (equivalent to Chair) of the Goldsmiths’ Company. The team comprised Khadijah Ali, Lucy Stiles, Emily Rajbhandari, Amelia Wood, Daniyal Ashraf and Matthew Schaffel and also saw writing contributions from Kathryn Austin, Subhiksha Loganathan and Elizabeth Crowther.
The judges quizzed the team for 20 minutes and gave them praise for their presentation and for the impact that the School’s work has had on the local community as well as on those pupils involved. The judges commented that the pupils had clearly benefitted from the learning and development opportunities provided during the programme. They were particularly impressed with the students’ understanding of what they had learned from their community engagement activities and how these activities had changed their views on the world around them, the personal stories from students about how they felt they had changed the lives of others and the impressive integration of the activities with the local community, commenting that: “It is clear that this is part of the DNA of your school.”
The Goldsmiths’ Company Community Engagement Awards were launched this year. 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.”
Regional finalists will be invited to the magnificent Goldsmiths’ Hall in London for a ceremony and a chance to showcase their 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.
The finals take place in London on 25th June 2019.