MAC FIRST GIVE AWARDS 2017 – CITY HALL, LONDON
On October 2nd, Lowrie Tedstone, Lauren Hughes and Ffion Withers (Y10) attended the First Give Awards at City Hall in London. They were accompanied by Mr. Church and Miss. Summers of the Religious Studies Department.
In July, the pupils won £1000 for the charity ‘Women’s Aid’ based in Pontypridd at our ‘First Give’ grand final. One hundred and seventy schools in England and Wales took part in the programme last year. The programme was delivered through different curriculum areas including Religious Studies, PSHE, Citizenship, English and Welsh Baccalaureate. MACS was one of only five Welsh schools invited to the awards ceremony in London.
During the awards ceremony, the pupils were invited to make their ‘pledge for social change’ on behalf of our school and their chosen charity. They were also invited to take part in a ‘soapbox challenge’ where they could win a further £200 for their charity and a £50 voucher to spend at Nandos.
Mr. Church was nominated for the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award category and was invited to be the ‘Teacher Speaker’ at the event. He spoke about the incredible impact that the First Give program had in our school and the passion and power of pupil voice in delivering it. The audience burst into spontaneous applause, when they were informed that our twenty-four pupils raised £480 in addition to the £1500 grant money that was available to be awarded to all of our chosen charities!
The party stayed in London overnight. After taking a river taxi up the Thames, they were treated to a private tour of the Houses of Parliament thanks to the Rt. Hon. Ann Clwyd MP. They also visited Trafalgar square and had time to shop for a few souvenirs of their London experience.
Our sixth-form pupils have been inspired by the social action undertaken by their peers. At MACS, the pupils are currently fundraising to put on a Christmas party for disabled children and a tea dance for old age pensioners during the academic year.
