Enrichment at Ripley Academy

Students enjoyed sessions with different themes including politics, global awareness and international links.

Year nine students were asked to form political parties before drawing up their own manifestos and campaigning on specific issues. They made rosettes and posters and presented their policies to their fellow students who then voted in a mock election.

Student Kaine Edwards, 14, said that forming a political party with his friends had helped him to understand more about politics.

He said: “I didn’t really know that much about politics before but this has definitely made me more aware.”

Sessions to promote political awareness were held for Year seven, during which students examined the subjects of migration, what it means to be British and the needs of business.

Year eight looked at their role as global citizens by setting up pen pal links with a French school and creating a report on a current affairs issue in a foreign language.

Councilor Roland Emmas Williams also visited the academy, and brought the official twinning charter that links Ripley with French town Chateau-Renault.

Hannah Thompson, from the National Citizen Service, said the students reacted well to the sessions.

She said: “We took the students out of their comfort zone to see how they would react in different situations. They were quiet at first but then came to life. That’s that’s why we love working on this project, seeing their confidence grow is amazing. We also encourage them to get involved in our outward bound courses and projects, which see them making a difference in their local community.”