By Mr Gibson (Senior Tutor Sixth Form)
Over the autumn term, twelve of our Lower Sixth students took part in the Ready2Lead? series of conferences, developing not only their leadership skills but also considering ways in which they can contribute to our local community in Bedford.
The Ready2Lead? programme, now an established annual event, brings together an array of schools from Bedford Borough and gives students the opportunity to develop skills; such as networking, public speaking and planning; consider how they might be able to contribute to the people in our community, and bring their creativity and entrepreneurial skills to a new forum. BGS had two groups, each with their own projects: Be Safer Bedford and The Big Sister Project.
The first two conferences gave our students the opportunity to mix with students from other schools in Bedford and hear about the things that they feel are important, whilst also building up a wider network of friends and potentially future business partners. There were also a wide range of speakers from different industries, such as tech and social media, and the editor of the Bedford Independent, all offering ideas, advice as well as connections that could help the students now (with their projects) and in the future.
The third and final conference on Thursday 10th December was the opportunity for the students to present their projects to their peers, teachers and a range of officials from Bedford, including Mayor of Bedford Borough, Tom Wootton and CEO of Bedford Borough Council, Laura Church. Each group took their opportunity to pitch their projects, which they had spent the preceding few weeks creating and developing. They did a fantastic job presenting their ideas and engaging with the judges.
Whilst both BGS groups did an amazing job, The Big Sister Project got a ‘Highly Commended’ award and have been asked to work with the council in developing authentic and meaningful curriculum change that will affect young girls in Bedford. This is a wonderful achievement. We are very proud of all the students because they all took themselves out of their comfort zone and were bold in representing the school, themselves and their ideas. Well done and exciting times ahead!
Keyah (Lower Sixth) said: “I enjoyed meeting new people and having a space to explore my creativity, as well as developing my networking skills.”
Jemima (Lower Sixth) added: “The whole experience felt very empowering.”
