The Cheltenham Education Partnership is a collaboration between schools in the Cheltenham region. This meeting was described by the CEP as an event designed to 'stimulate two-way dialogue between students and experts to facilitate meaningful future change', the day offered student delegates from all of the CEP schools (which includes all the state and independent secondary schools in Cheltenham) a unique opportunity to discuss with the key players - including the Mayor, Council Members, the CEO of the Festivals, the Vice-Chancellor of the University and a Police Superintendent - what they thought Cheltenham should look like going forward from a young person's perspective. The general consensus was that it was exactly the sort of event that the CEP was established for, as arguably it is only when all the schools work together in such a collaborative way can you gain the attention of those that matter in the decision making process.

The Balcarras student delegates, drawn from Years 10 and 12, were given the question How can young people work better with the local police to improve safety in Cheltenham? to consider. They were then asked to research the topic in advance and come up with a short presentation of their ideas. Each team were given an expert to work with on the day, and the Balcarras team were paired with Superintendent Emma Macdonald from Gloucestershire Constabulary, who made it clear throughout the day how impressed she was with their ideas and their overall attitude and approach. 

After a working lunch, which saw the delegates continuing to discuss their ideas with the visiting 'experts', the afternoon session saw the delegates being split-up into different mixed groups before revisiting the key questions that had been posed before the event. And it was fascinating how this session (possibly by taking some of the student delegates out of their 'comfort zone' and asking them to work with other young people they had not met before) generated a number of even more interesting and inventive suggestions as to how Cheltenham could be shaped for the better in the future, many of which didn't just need additional funding. For instance, one group championed the idea of repurposing empty retail space in the town centre as a venue that young people could then use to meet up with students from other schools in a safe (and, at this time of year, warm and dry!) location.  

Going forward, the aim is for the CEP to start putting together other projects that will then see the ideas generated during the day being taken even further along the route to becoming a reality. What is certainly the case is that Balcarras students will continue to be very much at the heart of the process!

Mr Johnson

CEP Champion