On Thursday 7th July pupils, parents, staff and our local MP Malcolm Wicks came together to enjoy the final of the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI). The event was a huge success and saw Mohsin Bukhari, Sam Lemon, Zachary Letts and Mykola Kalynskyy from 9.8 win £3000 for Potential 4You, a charity that helps young people stay out of crime. The boys had strong competition from other groups including: Aminat Animashaun and Kelvin Thompson representing the Croydon Sickle Call and Thalassaemia Support Group; Cynthia Paramanathan, Sophia Pathmaranjan, Jay Kumar and Heathcliff Soya-Bongay representing Croydon Voluntary Association for the Blind and Dylan Mills, Shivam Patel, Bhavnesh Patel, Melvin Boansi and James Currie representing Croydon Churches Floating Shelter. The judging panel consisting of our local MP, Malcolm Wicks, Assistant Headteacher, Ms Bailey, our new Head Boy, Shivang Joshi and Head Girl Jessica Foskett had high praise for the passion and commitment each of the groups showed to their charities and their professional conduct on the evening.
The evening was a culmination of weeks of hard work by all pupils involved. Pupils have been taking part in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) in their RE and PSHCE lessons over the last few weeks. YPI is an international program that aims to develop community leaders by giving pupils a hands-on experience of philanthropy providing them with the skills and awareness to make a positive difference in their communities.Working in small groups pupils identified a local social service charity they believe is best placed to make a positive contribution to their chosen need. Pupils then made a presentation on the reasons their proposed charity is the most deserving of £3000 support. The winning presentations went through to a semi-final and the winners took part in the final on Thursday. A fantastic occassion, very well done to all involved and we'll look forward to it again next year!