Civic Award Celebrations at All Saints Marsh

The Year 6 Civic Award graduates at All Saints Marsh C of E Academy, who are part of the Learning Academy Partnership, enjoyed attending the Torbay and Devon Civic Award Presentation evening at St Cuthbert Mayne on the 6^th July. Award certificates were presented by Torbay’s Civic Mayor, Councillor Mandy Darling, to over 200 children representing the 20 schools who attended.

To achieve the award, the children have to prove their participation in several main areas. These are:

• Active Citizenship in their school community – Children donated food to our local community fridge, read in school with the younger children and helped to promote local charities close to their hearts. They have taken on roles of responsibility like team Captains and Play Leaders.
• Active and Non-active hobbies – Children participated in a range of sporting activities including football, cricket, swimming and local Scout groups. Non-active hobbies included baking and drawing.
• Residential experience and adventure training – The children enjoyed a residential at PGL, Barton Hall, Torquay where they participated in canoeing, abseiling, climbing and lots more exciting individual and team building activities.
• Children also need to adopt a cause or charity which they feel strongly about. Together, the children raised hundreds of pounds via bake sale, beat the goalie events and Christmas shoe box filling for charities such as Bowel Cancer UK, the Samaritans, the Stanley Beau Foundation and the Ukraine Appeal.

The children must also pass a rigorous assessment when they have to present all this evidence to an external assessor, where they demonstrate and talk about their activities and the difference it has made to their local communities. We would like to thank Reverend Regan from St Paul’s Church for volunteering to assess the children who all spoke so passionately about the award.

The Torbay and Devon Civic Award was first introduced in 2005 by founder Karen Thomson. The aim being to encourage Citizenship amongst ten and eleven year olds. Karen was inspired to create the award by a deep belief that education should be broader and more futures driven.

This year the numbers of children taking part in the Torbay and Devon Civic Award is over 300 and well over 2000 children have received their award during its existence! For more information please visit Torbay and Devon Civic Award for year 6 students in Torbay and Devon

We would also like to thank the staff at All Saints Marsh C of E Academy; Mrs Webber, Mrs Babbage and Mrs Elliott who have facilitated the award and of course the parents for encouraging their children and most of all the children who we are all incredibly proud of.

Laura Secker, Head Teacher, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to watch our Year 6s flourish and grow into the young adults that they are becoming. They have become good citizens in their communities, and they have been passionate about understanding their surroundings and the changes they need to make to better them. Well done to every single one of the Year 6s who participated in this marvellous opportunity and I hope that you continue to make a change as you move up to secondary school.”