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Colchester students create change in their community

(04/06/25)

Posted by : Honor Hayes, Transform Our World Youth Practitioner for Essex

Year 5 students at St John’s Church of England Primary School in Colchester, Essex have shown incredible commitment to their ‘Transform Our World’ projects.

Activating their compassionate values with meaningful discussions about local and global issues, the class chose to take action on three impactful initiatives - supporting homelessness, promoting anti-bullying and protecting local wildlife.

A poster made by the students to organise a food donation day at their school.

One group of students set out by researching local charities that support homelessness and were led to Beacon House – an organisation providing services to people who are homeless, in insecure accommodation or are at risk of homelessness in Colchester, Essex.

The group organised a whole-school collection day to donate essential food items listed on the charity’s website. To ensure the campaign’s success, the students designed eye-catching posters which they displayed around school and delivered an engaging assembly, encouraging their peers to bring in an item.

The result was a united school community working together to support an important cause, with bags full of donations dropped off to Beacon House.

Another group of students took a bold stand against bullying and discussed creative and impactful ways to address this issue. They planned a powerful drama performance to show in a whole-school assembly, that highlighted the harms of bullying and emphasized the importance of kindness.

Together, they drafted a script and spent time outside of sessions to practice it, ensuring a confident and successful performance.

Reflecting on the impact of their project, one of the actors, Erin, shared:

“I hope it will make people realise that bullying is wrong and you might not even realise you’re doing it!”

School students on stage delivering a powerful drama performance to show in a whole-school assembly

Meanwhile, the final group of students turned their attention to the environment, focussing on creating a safe and welcoming haven for the local wildlife that visit the school. They used DT (Design Technology) skills to build hedgehog homes and squirrel feeders and chose thoughtful, quiet places to house them. The students have plans to regularly refill the feeders throughout the year.

A group of students standing outside holding a hedgehog box they have made.

Through these projects, the Year 5 students of St John’s Church of England Primary School have demonstrated the incredible potential of young people to drive positive change in their communities. Summing up their experience, one student said,

“I love that we made our environment a better place and helped the homeless and the animals.”

St John’s Church of England Primary School is supported by Honor Hayes, Transform Our World Youth Engagement Practitioner for Essex, supported by #iwillfund and National Lottery Community Fund.

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