Friday Headlines

Next Generation Awards Success

Senior School

14 October 2022

In the Summer Term, girls who are now in Year 9 took part in an initiative called the Next Generation Awards. This competition is run by Birmingham Civic Society and encourages young people to think of creative solutions to problems that we may have noticed in Birmingham. The aim of the competition is to identify a problem and come up with a practical, sustainable and financially viable solution. 

Pupil Kiri-Anmol S has written a short account of her experience completing the project.

“Taking part in this project was definitely a great experience for myself and my group. I learnt many skills such as working with a team, pitching in front of varied audiences and management skills. I recommend for anyone to take part in this project, even outside of school, as I feel as though it has provided me with skills that I can use later in academic life.”

Ruqayyah H gave a short account of the skills she has learned by taking part in the Next Generation Awards.

“Taking part in the Next Generation Awards was a very exciting opportunity for me. It helped to build my teamwork skills as we had to work as a team to come up with an idea and present it. This also helped to build my pitching skills as we had to present an idea to our year group and to a group of external judges. Likewise, this opportunity also helped to build my management ability. Overall it was a very helpful experience for me as it taught me a range of skills.”  

The girls then presented their ideas to a panel of judges and the girls who achieved Bronze and Silver certificates will get their certificates in a year group assembly. However, there was not one but two groups who have achieved the prestigious Gold Award and deserve a special mention. The first group called their project Birth, Blest and Bloom which tackled issues faced by mothers and children in our local area. The judges were really impressed with their ideas to help women who may find themselves feeling lonely and scared at this time in their life. The girls who receive a Gold certificate for their efforts are Navoddya B, Lily C, Sana M and Amy W.

And the second group, who received a Gold certificate, are project Blossom who presented a number of really practical and effective ways for our local community to tackle period poverty. The judges praised their attention to detail and for confidently answering every question they faced about the project with intelligent and thoughtful responses.

This team was also named Best in School and went on to present their ideas to an external panel of esteemed judges at the Birmingham Civic Society. The team consisted of Anya De, Ruqayyah H, Tinotenda M, Kiri-Anmol S, and Emily S.

This team were highly commended for their approach to the initiative and were invited to celebrate their efforts at an official Awards Ceremony in Birmingham, being presented with their plaque last week by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. A big well done to all of the girls involved and especially our winners, Blossom!
Anya has written a short account of her experience attending the awards celebration evening.

“What a fantastic night it was! The Birmingham Civic Society celebrated the Next Generation Awards on 6th October at Highbury Hall in Moseley, recognising and celebrating the efforts of secondary school children in supporting their local communities. 

“Me, Kiri-Anmol and Ruqayyah received a plague by Lord Mayor Cllr Maureen Cornish on behalf of their team for project Blossom which presented a number of really practical and effective ways for our local community to tackle period poverty. 

“With several finalists presenting on reading initiatives, tutoring primary school pupils and how issues such as homelessness could be addressed, the winners of the night were King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy with their superb project to redistribute school uniform no longer needed by pupils to those within their school most in need.

“A big thank you to Miss O’Hare for bringing such an enlightening experience to Year 9.”

 

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