A GROUP of Selwood Middle School pupils and 18-year-old Tom Woolfall, a student at Frome Community College, have been honoured in the annual Children and Young People’s Awards, run by Avon and Somerset Police.
Tom has been involved with Young People Frome and the Frome Youth Council for two years. He works very hard, is always willing to get involved and gives his time on a regular basis to support their work in a number of ways. Amongst his endeavours, he set up and ran arts, crafts and other activities for children and young people at the town’s Christmas spectacular event. He also helped to raise money, plan and organise a big partnership youth event to showcase youth and community organisations in the town and has helped to put on a number of live music events for young people.
He regularly attends Frome Youth Council meetings and has met with the police, town council members, the Rotary Club, Somerset County Council officers and others to discuss solutions for local projects.
He has put a lot of work, commitment and energy into supporting the young people of Frome. He has now reached 18 years of age, but still continues to help make Frome a better place for young people. He is taking a year out from his studies to work and decide upon his future career path.
An award was also presented to Selwood Middle School Christian Union, which consists of a small group of pupils aged between 9 and 11 years of age. Despite their youth and the fact that the union has only been running for 15 months, they have completed seven projects and had a significant impact in the surrounding community of Frome.
The pupils give up their Fridays every week and have impressed those around them with their initiative and dedication. One of their first projects involved visiting a care home in Frome. They created a short play which they performed for the residents, which acted as the springboard for continued work in the community.
The pupils then decided to raise money for a local charity which works to rehabilitate young homeless people in the Frome area. They managed, publicised and ran three cake sales in the school, raising over £200.
After a second visit to the care home, they were touched by one lady’s desire to go on a day trip. They decided to raise money with the intention of sending all the residents in the care home on a fun-filled day out.
Despite their youth, the children have warmed to working in the community and making a difference to people’s lives. They have taken leadership of each project and built up the confidence to talk, share and discuss with the people they are helping and reach out to the community.
The third event to celebrate the achievements of young people in the force area, was run by Avon and Somerset Police at their headquarters in Portishead and took place on 21st October.
Deputy Chief Constable Rob Beckley, who presented the awards said, “It is great to see young people so involved in their communities. All of our winners have shown what can be achieved with dedication and hard work and the difference it can make to other people’s lives. I would like to congratulate all our winners and nominees and encourage them to keep up the good work.”
