Mayor of Winchester Supports First Give charity competition at The Westgate School
- rcorrie32
- Apr 3
- 3 min read
The Westgate School proudly hosted the Mayor of Winchester (Counsellor Russell Gordon-Smith) at a special event to decide the winner of the First Give competition, a unique initiative involving Year 9 pupils. The competition, integrated into the school's Personal Development curriculum, saw pupils engage with local charities and implement social action campaigns across the rest of the school.
The team supporting Trinity gave out free soup to pupils at lunch-time and are participating in the Big Sleep Out in May. Pupils who chose Solent Minds are cycling to each of the Solent Minds offices to raise money and awareness, whilst the Boaz Project team gave out wildflower seeds and sold cakes made with eggs from the Boaz own hens. Other local charities chosen were; St John’s Winchester, Abby’s Heroes, Winchester Basics Bank, Emmaus and Winchester Young Carers.
In total, over 40 pupils showcased their public speaking skills by presenting their chosen charity’s work and their social action to the full year group plus a selected panel of judges.
The panel of judges, consisting of the Mayor of Winchester, Year 9 Leader Mr Searle, parent governor Andy Sweeney and the Head of the school’s Charity Group, Zach Burn, evaluated each class based on their social action initiatives and presentation quality. The presentations featured videos made by pupils, audience interaction, stories of personal connection to the causes and even a dancing unicorn to win over the judge’s support!
Mrs. Fyvie-Rae, Associate Senior Leader at The Westgate School, expressed her pride in the pupils' efforts: "We are thrilled to host the Mayor at this special occasion. Our pupils have worked hard to deliver impactful projects. Through our Personal Development curriculum, we aim to provide opportunities for pupils to foster a sense of responsibility to others and society, and the First Give initiative provides an incredible platform for pupils to engage with this."
It was a closely contested final, with the Boaz Project winning by just one point to earn a £1,000 First Give donation. Stuart Palmer and Cat Philips, from Boaz, attended the presentation day and found the pupils’ efforts inspirational. Stuart commented “The creative promotion of the charity and the way they have understood the values, and the impact of the charity is truly inspirational”.
Abby’s Heroes, and their mascot Abbycorn, were given a judge’s commendation certificate for their efforts.
The Mayor of Winchester, Russell Gordon-Smith said:
"I was delighted to attend The Westgate School’s First Give presentation day, and honoured to be asked to sit on the judges’ panel. It was very inspiring to see the enthusiasm of these young people for the local charities they chose to support. Those who took part and made presentations will have learned many valuable skills which will be so helpful to them in any potential future careers. I commend all of the young people for their participation – First Give is an excellent idea, one which also reminds us of the importance of giving back.”
Chris Searle, Year 9 Leader commented:
“I have a special year group! I am very proud of all the pupils for engaging in this initiative; from the pupils presenting on stage, to the tech team who supported the final on the day; it was another proud moment for Team Westgate. Pupils have learnt so much from the local charities and how they support the wider community. I would like to thank our brilliant tutor team who supported pupils throughout this term, which included our inaugural First Give Fair where each team promoted their charity to younger pupils. This is the second time we have undertaken the initiative, and it is getting bigger and better every year!”
A big thank to First Give and all the tutor groups of year 9 for their enthusiasm and dedication to this initiative. Also thank you to the Mayor of Winchester and Andy Sweeney for giving up their time to be part of the judges' panel.
