Help Sam Build a 'Quiet Room' at SWCHS

My name is Sam Spaxman, I'm a Year 13 student at Saffron Walden County High School. This year I was honoured to receive a Jack Petchey award in recognition of some mentoring work I have done within school during the pandemic. I was absolutely thrilled to receive the award; a total of £250 to be spent within school on something of my choice.  I spent this money on equipment for the SWCHS Pastoral Hub, but would now like to take my commitment to the Hub a step further - but for that to happen I need your help.

The current global pandemic has interrupted and altered the lives of many young people and will continue to do so for many years to come. Being in school in the last year and a half has been incredibly difficult for many students; studying lessons and revising for exams in the ever-changing world of Covid-19 has been stressful to say the least! At SWCHS, we are very lucky to have the Crocus Well-being Team who have worked very hard to help students to deal with a variety of mental health issues including stress and anxiety.

I became part of the pastoral hub (B16) over the lockdown period in order to help support other students who may be struggling. During this time I saw first-hand what an invaluable provision B16 is to the school. It has become a real sanctuary within school offering a calm environment in which to work and providing a range of therapeutic activities to students that need help getting back on track. To find out more about B16 please watch our promo video here.

B16 is a new and ongoing project, put in place to help cope with the ever-changing demands created by the pandemic, as such it needs continuous improvement and materials. At the moment there is one key element that is missing and that is a 'quiet room'. A room within B16 that is private and confidential. A room where students can share their concerns without being overheard. A room where they feel completely safe to express their feelings.

I feel so passionately about the need for this space and I am determined to raise the £19,750 to complete this building project through crowdfunding and so this is where you come in!

I would appreciate it so much if you could dig deep and donate to such a worthy cause and then please share amongst your friends and family so that they may do the same. Not only will I thank you for it but the students of today and those of the future will sincerely thank you for it too.