A school in Eccles has fought off tough opposition to win the top prize in a national enterprise competition.
Students from Ellesmere Park High were asked to come up with a campaign to raise awareness about how the majority of them would take action if they witnessed bullying around their school.
They created ‘Benjamin the Anti-bullying Buddy’, who stands proudly as a cardboard cut-out in the school corridor. For the last few months, students have been taking selfies with him and posting them on social media to share the positive message.
Elisa (14), part of the winning group said “We wanted everyone to see our campaign, especially the year 7’s so they know that our school is a safe environment to be in”.
Their campaign was so good that it was entered into a public vote which saw them beat seven other finalists from across the UK. Second and third prizes went to campaigns about alcohol and smoking.
Kerril Casey, Teacher at Ellesmere Park High said “We are a really proud anti-bullying school so absolutely love the Benjamin campaign. The reaction to it has been amazing – every day I walk past, there are students posing with it. We are very proud of the students”.
The Enterprise Day was ran by Manchester based Social Sense as part of their R U Different? programme. Grace Kelly, Programmes Manager, explains the value of the programme: “R U Different? is designed to challenge and positively change perceptions of young people in relation to a number of actions and behaviours. This particular Enterprise programme allows students to learn new skills and lead the process of celebrating the real social norms for peers to follow.”
