Pupils choose Sophie’s Legacy as their nominated charity in this year’s First Give challenge
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For the third year running, pupils have taken part in First Give, a programme designed to ignite a spark of social conscience in young people.
Through the First Give programme, Year 9 pupils learn about social issues in their communities and choose the causes which are important to them. They then research charities working in their communities and as a class, choose one to represent.
Charities are invited into school to meet the class, so that pupils can learn more about their work and how to help them. The pupils then plan and deliver social action activities such as fundraising, awareness raising and volunteering. The next stage is to create a shortlist of charities to take forward to the grand finale, so pupils organise a showcase in the school hall and Year Six pupils are invited to listen to their pitches and vote for their favourites.
As part of the scheme, pupils learn public speaking skills, putting together creative presentations about the work of their charity and what their class has done to support it in preparation for the First Give final. The shortlisted teams then pitch their charity’s cause in front of the whole of their year group in a special assembly.
This year’s panel of judges was made up of the Mayor of Winchester, Mr Sudhakar Achwal, Mr Miff Kayum from the Rotary Club, Deputy Headteacher Mrs Evans and Year 10 charity lead Jessie Beacher, with representatives from each of the charity finalists in attendance.
The winning charity was Sophie’s Legacy. Created in memory of Sophie Fairall and the legacy of change she wanted to create following her diagnosis and subsequent death from a rare childhood cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, in September 2021 aged just 10 years. The charity will be awarded a First Give grant of £1,000.
The First Give programme is a fantastic opportunity and platform for pupils to make a real, tangible difference to their communities through social action, and in doing so gain wider benefits including a feeling of agency and usefulness; teamwork and collaboration skills; public speaking and project planning; leadership, empathy; and improved self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Mrs Fyvie-Rae, Associate Senior Leader and organiser of First Give within The Westgate School said: “I am incredibly proud of all the hard work the Year 9 pupils have put into their presentation and the support they received from their tutors and their chosen charities. This activity forms a really important part of our Personal Development programme, and I look forward to seeing how pupils put these news skills and interests into action as they progress through The Westgate School.”
