Page 3 - Issue No. 80 Summer 2019

Sir Gary Streeter

College News 1

Students’ Message taken to Westminster by Sir Gary Streeter

At Ivybridge Community College, we are very proud to be at the forefront of

promoting student and staff well-being. We all know how important this time of

the year is for our GCSE and A level students and that students across the country

from primary to secondary are finding school more stressful and demanding.

Modern life is demanding for all of us but the complexity of the world around us is

particularly challenging for young people. With this is mind, Helen Ryder, working

with an experienced coach, Kathy Rablah and a pastoral specialist,

Roger Hutchinson, launched a pilot well-being programme with 13 student

volunteers.

The group focused on the 'Inner Diamond' approach which promotes inner

resilience and an 'it's ok not to be ok' belief. And the success of this pilot has been

quite phenomenal. The group was invited to a global conference and had a

great impact on an audience composed of other students and a range of Mr Nick Gibb
professionals.

And then there was the remarkable work the well-being group undertook with

local MP Sir Gary Streeter. He was so impressed that he took the Diamond Group’s views to Westminster

where Ivybridge Community College and our students were actually named in a parliamentary debate

and commended by Minister of State for Education, Mr Nick Gibb.

Speaking in Westminster on Tuesday, 7 May 2019, Sir Gary Streeter, Conservative MP for South West Devon

said, "I ask the Minister to join me in thanking the students at Ivybridge Community College, Lucy, Amelia,

Evie, Ela, Lilana, Izzy, Annabelle, Nell, Ella, Katy, Katie and Cameron, for being so clear and robust about

these important issues. They all contributed to an excellent discussion. Can I invite the Minister to fully take

on board the comments made by those excellent pupils? They are pupils at one of the largest and most

successful state comprehensive schools in the UK, which has been outstanding for as long as I can

remember. They are intelligent and articulate young people, who demonstrated an extraordinary

understanding of the issues affecting them. They were able to talk confidently and openly about how they

feel their schooling could be improved, in the presence of their teaching staff. We should take notice of

those fine young people and work as hard as possible to deliver for them."

Please visit the College’s website for further information and to read the full transcript -
https://www.ivybridge.devon.sch.uk/westminster

At the College we have always believed our students can be whatever they want to be and this initiative
shows that we can have an impact at national level in an area that it so important to enable young people
to thrive and achieve their potential.