September saw us kick off the academic year in style with the latest in our Changemakers programmes. Louise Forey from Cheltenham Borough Council, and Raechel Kelly from Planet Cheltenham and The Liminality guided students from seven different schools through the very first stage of their Cheltenham 2040 sustainability mission. The students were asked to consider their schools and local communities and start coming up with some ideas to change things for the better. We had some amazing ideas, and we look forward to seeing how those develop over the course of the programme! A huge thanks to Will Parker at Cheltenham Ladies College for organising and hosting the first stage.
We also began the recording of the first “Spill the Tea” podcast of year, Harriet Baynam-Williams at All Saints, along with our students have been exploring the concept of “Adulting” with their special guests, so keep an eye out for the new episode dropping in the coming weeks. Well done guys!
Our Creative writing society also kicked off, with the promise of some amazing stories in the pipeline, a big thanks to Libby Brown at Winchcombe School for delivering this, and to High School Leckhampton for hosting.
Upcoming Events
October is a packed month for CEP with a number of brand new events just around the corner.
Young Poets – 06/10/23 – 4pm-6pm – Cheltenham Ladies College
The Young Poets programme will begin with an Inspiration Event, led by local poet Emma Taylor. This event will set up our students to produce poems ready for Cheltenham Poetry Fest
The Great Debate – 10/10/23 – 4pm-6pm – Cheltenham Bournside School
The first Great Debate of the year will look at issues around technology, AI and digital currency. Our students will tackle a number of key issues around implementation, ethics and the future of these technologies.
CEPXVOICEBOX – 13/10/23 – 3:30pm-4:15pm – VOICEBOX
Our annual work with the Cheltenham Literature Festival VOICEBOX project continues this year, with a theme on “lived experience”. Students will be sharing their own stories again this year and will be supported by special guests Lennina Ofori, whose work focuses on bringing voice to those in the margins, and inclusivity campaigner Charli Clement, who has lived experience of disability, neurodivergence and mental illness, to explore the power of our own story.
Medical/Dental/Veterinary Applicant Conference – 19/10/23 – 9:15am-3:30pm – Cheltenham College
Keynote speakers and practical workshops for students looking to apply for MDV courses in the coming years.
Changes
It is likely that The Young Filmmakers event scheduled for October 20th will be delayed, to allow for more preparation time.
The Savings and Investments workshop to be held by Abigail Foster of Elent Financial Education will be postponed to November 20th. This will coincide with a Spill the Tea recording session with Abigail on the same day.
The date for the final Changemakers workshop in May has been shifted to Monday May 13th to avoid the Bank Holiday.
A huge thank you to all of our hardworking Champions and to the students who make all of our events such a huge success!