Pioneering pupils try to tackle extremism

All together — Blue Coat pupils with teacher Claire Pollitt (centre), nominated for a Pride in Oldham award for teaching philosophy in primary schools

AN 18-strong group of sixth-formers at Blue Coat School have set up a pioneering project to prevent violent extremism and prejudice in the borough.

Pupils studied hard themselves to achieve a Philosophy for Children qualification, before hitting the road to take their in-depth talks into local primary schools.

All their efforts have now paid off, having been nominated for a Pride In Oldham award.

Posing thought-provoking questions to youngsters such as “What does it mean to be English?”, the group approached the subject of appreciating diversity.

Pupil Joshua Blood said: “The project allowed the young children to have a voice and listen to other people’s opinions.

“We were surprised at how mature they were and how they got into the discussions.”

The project was part of a school-wide focus on citizenship and formed part of the students’ AS Level studies.

They split into four groups to hold sessions with children aged seven to 11 at Friezland, Freehold Community, St Thomas’s, Moorside, and Limeside primary schools.

Meeting at the school’s new Student Action Hub, team members were thrilled when they found out they had been nominated.

Ellie Horsfield said: “It’s really nice for our efforts to be recognised after the work we have put in.

“When we started learning even we were finding out things that we thought we should have known already.

“We wanted to make a real difference in the community. Approaching these subjects at a young age can only be positive.”

The team also runs similar projects with pupils aged 11 to 13 at their own school.

Teacher Claire Pollitt, said: “They have worked so hard, given up their own time and it really changed them as individuals.

“They have set a precedent for future years and impressed the whole school.

“To be able to go into a primary school and create the kind of environment where children can discuss their views, at the age of 17, is fantastic.

“They really deserve it.”