By Miss Dawson (Head of Year 9)

On Thursday, 15th June, Year 9 joined Bedford School for a Citizenship morning. The idea for the morning came from six students from each of the schools attending a Police Crime Commissioner’s Conference in March, looking at the crimes that impact students of their age, including peer-on-peer abuse, knife crime, and exploitation, as well as the support available to tackle them. Following the conference, these students recruited a larger group whom they educated with the information from the conference, and the students produced a resource to use with their peers on the Citizenship morning.

The morning began with an introductory session from PC Daniel Sullivan from the Education and Diversion Team, who took the students through the decision-making model and suitable questions to ask when in a difficult situation.

The groups from Bedford School and BGS then came together to deliver the materials they had produced in mixed groups. This was an opportunity to discuss challenging topics, and think about the impact of these crimes on young people their age.

The final session was led by Rochelle Brown and Roseann Taylor from the VERU (Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit). It centered on the profound repercussions of crime, affecting not only the perpetrators but also their loved ones and the broader community. Roseann's heartfelt account of the tragic loss of her son AJ, who fell victim to a fatal stabbing in Luton during a confrontation with a gang in 2018, left an indelible impression on the audience. Her emotional words resonated deeply with the students, making it the most compelling and thought-provoking part of the morning.