Sixty S2 to S6 6 pupils from Pinewood School had the chance to meet eight charities at a fair hosted by the school as part of their involvement in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

The pupils will now form teams, researching social issues impacting the West Lothian community and understanding the role charities play in supporting people. They will then choose a charity to develop a presentation for in a bid to secure their school’s £3000 YPI grant, supported by local funding partner Baillie Gifford, who have supported YPI in West Lothian for four years.

Erin was one of the pupils who met charities on the say. She said:

“I had a good time meeting the charities and they were nice.”

Pinewood School in Bathgate supports children with a range of additional support needs from primary through to secondary age.

Teacher Scott Robbie said:

“The YPI roadshow was a great opportunity to make the research aspect of the project so much more meaningful. Some young people might struggle with the concept of ‘charity’ and how deeply we rely on third sector work, so this was a wonderful chance to help connect the dots in our pupils’ minds.”

The pupils will present their research and why they believe their charity should secure the grant in April.

Margaret King of Team Jak attended the event. She said:

“I was delighted to attend the Pinewood event. There was a real buzz of anticipation among the children who came prepared with lots of questions.”