Caring students raise cash for charity

Caring  students at St Matthew Academy raised cash for charity and boosted their exam grades at a spectacular show.

Young dancers at the Blackheath academy joined professionals on stage in a huge celebration, which saw groups of students give presentations about their chosen charities. The best presentation won £3,000 for their good cause.

Year 10 students have been studying social issues as part of their Citizenship GCSE coursework, in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI). This organisation worked with groups of students as they selected a charity to champion.

The show came at the end of the course, giving the groups of students the chance to talk to the audience about the work of their charity. Their presentations were judged by a panel which included Lewisham councillor Michael Harris, Barry Mizen of the Jimmy Mizen Foundation, Kay Oldroyd of the Black Youth Achievement organisation and St Matthew Academy Vice-Principal Michael Barry.

The winning students were Christopher Shine, Natasha Malik, Preety Chuttoo, Ruby Wright and Tyler Wilson. Their chosen charity, the Young Carers project in Lewisham, received £3,000 courtesy of the YPI. Its representative Sarah Miller was among the VIP guests at the event.

Also taking part in the show, held at the academy, were professional dance company Innovate and a Year 9 student dance group called Dynamite, as well as talented young singers Gabriela Nunes De Oliviera and Lukundo Simbule.

Citizenship teacher Marie Smith, who organised the evening event, said: "I was extremely proud to see the students engage and co-operate in a team effort to make a change to their community and raise awareness.

"Citizenship plays a vital part in young people's lives. It helps to shape and prepare them to become informed citizens of their local, national and global societies."