Pupils from a Barrow school have become ambassadors for Anne Frank Trust UK after their project on equality landed them the roles.
Chetwynde School year nine pupils Sophie Biddulph, Thomas Colquhoun, Ben Hanna, Mia Hunt, Alfie White and Imogen Jones will attend meetings and work in association with the trust to challenge prejudice in the UK.
To become ambassadors, the youngsters had to work on a creative project and write a personal statement explaining why they wanted the role.
Places are limited on the ambassador programme and applications are judged by the charity’s youth empowerment panel, which includes previous Anne Frank ambassadors.
Michelle Doolan, acting head of humanities at the school, said: “They worked really hard on their project and we are really proud of them. It focused on gender equality and challenging stereotypes alongside supporting those who find it hard to make new friends through finding shared interests and starting new clubs in schools.”
The role of ambassador allows the youngsters to work on their project planning, teamwork, public speaking and creativity skills as well as giving them the chance to visit Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam.
Their appointment follows three year six pupils at Ormsgill School, who are also member’s of the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.
Tamara Hayton, Mason Quigley and Georgia Mathers were the first primary school-aged Anne Frank Trust ambassadors in Cumbria when they were accepted last year after being assessed by a panel in London. They spoke at Cumbria’s launch event in front of an audience in December in Millom.
Pupils from both schools also recently met Holocaust survivor Martin Stern MBE and heard his experiences of being in a concentration camp in the Netherlands.
Michelle added: “This was a rare and moving event for all the pupils involved and this experience will stay with them for some time.
“Some described it as an honour to meet him and said it was amazing that he had the courage to talk about his experience, others described it as ‘enlightening’ and a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’.
The Anne Frank Trust is a registered charity which hosts workshops in schools, offers mentoring and online events and has recently expanded its work into the county.
