Wrexham pupils helping to pave the way for change

School pupils from across the county borough were the first to take part in inaugural ‘Wrexham Wellbeing Festival’.

Held at Wrexham University the new event saw the youngsters share their stories around the areas of wellbeing where they want to see change, such as tackling stigma and bullying, the impact of homework on homelife for pupils and teachers, mindfulness and climate change.

Pupils from Victoria CP School, Gwersyllt CP School, Ysgol Bryn Alyn and Ysgol y Grango took part in the festival, which included presenting their views in the style of a ‘Ted Talk’ regional decision makers including educators, local authorities and third-sector organisations.

They have since all committed to taking their suggestions and ideas from the back to their respective organisations for consideration.

The talk from Victoria CP School pupils featured two acting sessions from the group focusing on how having a growth mindset, in contrast to having a fixed mindset, can positively affect the wellbeing of young people. They also explained the power of the word ‘yet’.

Sofia, Megan, and Solin from Victoria CP offered an insight into their presentation.

They said: “We acted out two scenes to show different examples of growth and limited mindsets.

“One will be about a spelling test and the other set in an art lesson and how you can react differently depending on your mindset.

“We really hope it has an impact on the audience to get back up even if you fail or make mistakes. We would like to remind people to have resilience, hope and to keep trying.”

The Wellbeing Festival builds on the the previously successful 2021 event in partnership with GwE and was organised as part of the University’s North Wales Children’s University project, which is part of its civic mission partnership commitment to tackle social inequality across North Wales.

Amber Percy, Civic Mission Project Manager and organiser of the festival explained the importance of these events.

“We want to teach the young people how to confidently influence decision makers to create change for issues that matter to them,” she said.

“It is fantastic to be able to give them a platform to vocalise their point of view and things that matter to them.

Nina Ruddle, Head of Public Policy Engagement at Wrexham University, described the desired outcomes for the day.

She said: “The event was all about empowering young people to have a voice, build their confidence and enable them to influence real change when it comes to the challenges that matter most to them.

“These are the leaders of the future and our role and the role of all the decision makers in the audience was to listen, to better understand the wellbeing challenges impacting on young people and to take the action that they told us they want to see.

“Our hope is that all partners involved will now action the asks made by the young people, building on our shared civic mission commitment to tackling social inequality.”