Students at The Compton School have a lot to give!

Barnet’s Mayor decides the winner of the First Give Final 2023

After months of hard work and preparation, Friday 26^th May saw Year 8 students at The Compton School being recognised for social action in their local community and their collaborative work with myriad Barnet charities at the First Give Final. Councillor Nagus Narenthira, the Mayor for the London Borough of Barnet, was invited to be a part of the prestigious judging panel which also included the two Heads of School, Andrew Hammond and Louise Ismail, as well as Head Student, Jaydon Rhule. The judging panel watched eight groups of students present their social actions and research in a bid to win £1000 for the charity of their choice. They found the judging challenging as the standard was so high. Councillor Narenthira commented: “I commend the school for preparing the students so well; each group showcased admirable skills and went to a lot of effort.” The winning team was 8C who were fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis Trust, a cause close to their heart as one member of the tutor group has the condition.

From making music videos to creating clay candleholders, fundraising activities that were planned and delivered by the students for First Give were both creative and varied. First Give is an organisation that aims to empower young people to take collective action about social issues within their local communities. Year 8 students at The Compton School have been inspired to learn about local social issues within their own community and chose which were important to them. They then carefully researched relevant charities working in their local areas and each tutor group selected one to represent. By working collaboratively, both with the chosen charity and each other, students planned and delivered social action activities to help fundraise for their chosen cause. Students have also honed their public speaking skills by putting together creative presentations about the work of their chosen charity and what their class has done to support it. The final, held in the Hall at The Compton School, saw one team from each tutor group, who were selected by their peers, present their social actions to the judging panel.

The Head Judge, Councillor Nagus Narenthira, was pleased to visit The Compton School. As a former teacher, she recognised the hard work and support the students had had from the form tutors. She said that: “Events like First Give are so important for young people; we need to instil the values of giving and empathy in them from a young age so that when they grow up, they can give back to the wider community.” Samuel Araujo, Rory Spindlow, Aaron Bhagat and Bella Campbell made up the winning team. They all commented upon how working with First Give helped them learn about wider social issues in their local area. Samuel said: “There are tons of charities locally to us that we’ve never really heard of before.” Rory explained: “The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is a really important charity to me; as someone with the condition, I am lucky that my physical health is good. So many people need lots of care and find life hard. I just think that everyone should have the same experiences.” They all spoke about how the project had equipped them with presentation and teamwork skills to help them in the future. “It was really important to cooperate and try to incorporate everyone’s ideas into the presentation; it could have made the difference between winning and losing.” Aaron had this advice for students undertaking the year-long project next year: “Work together and be open to other ideas; try to do something that will make your presentation unique.”

The Compton School is part of Middlesex Learning Trust which is passionate about ensuring the highest quality education for students whilst developing the whole child giving them the tools they need to succeed in life. Staff and students alike were immensely proud of the cohort of students who took positive social action to improve the lives of others in their local community.