Community Champion is a ‘godsend’ in local school
When twins Jacob and Will first met Saints Foundation Community Champion Reece, their life was spiralling, but they recently returned to Bitterne Park School after completing their GCSEs.
Reuniting with Reece as they went back to school, the boys from St Deny’s reflected on their life in education, and how engaging with Saints Foundation Community Champions changed their lives.
Will, 16, said: “As we got into secondary school, we started getting into fights and being naughty in lessons.”
Jacob reflected on when he hit his lowest point: “In year 10, I had a really bad spiral of behaviour. I got kicked out for an incident where I had a fight.
“At that point I was just like, this is my life. This is how I am going to end up. I’m going to be dead or in jail by 30.”
If you want to hear the full story of this incident, you can watch Jacob and Will story here. It was upon Jacob’s return to school, where they met Reece, and would eventually trust them to help him turn his life around.
Reece, Saints Foundation Community Champion at Bitterne Park School, said: “When he first got referred to me, he was a bit like, ‘I don’t really want to engage.’ I was just honest about who I am a person and how similar our stories are. More specifically my home life.”
Community Champions places Saints Foundation staff into secondary schools full time to help engage young people who are struggling in a classroom setting, and supporting them to reach their full potential.
Bitterne Park School is one of nine Community Champions schools across the city, working in small groups and 1:1 mentoring to help everyone thrive.
Lizzi Snoddon, Assistant Head of Year at Bitterne Park School, said: “Saints Foundation in itself is a phenomenal thing to have within the school. There is no doubt that they have change the lives of many, many a child within this school.
“Reece has the ability to make a massive in the lives of children, he is quite literally a godsend in this school.”
Watch Jacob and Will’s full story here: https://youtu.be/qrwdWmBnU6A
