Students at Lathallan School secured £3000 for Pillar Kincardineshire to support the mental health of young people locally.

The school took part in its eighth year of The Wood Foundation’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), with students also representing Disability Information Scotland, The Reconnection Project, Hear Me, and CALICO and at the Final Showcase event.

Judges at the event included Blair Thomson of the programme’s local funding partner The Northwood Charitable Trust. He said:

“It was wonderful to return to my old school to witness a new generation of Lathallians do their community proud.

“The presentations were incredibly powerful and creative. It was a difficult decision for the judging panel.

“We are proud of our long-term relationship with YPI which allows us to grant funds to incredible organisations locally, championed by young people.”

The Northwood Charitable Trust is the funding partner of YPI across Dundee and Angus and has supported the programme for five years. Fourteen schools across the region take part in the active citizenship programme.

Ali MacLachlan, UK Director at The Wood Foundation, said:

“Congratulations to the students at Lathallan who once again represented social issues in the community with maturity, compassion, and a great deal of creativity.

“We would like to extend our ongoing gratitude to Blair and the team at The Northwood Charitable Trust for their commitment to empowering young people in Dundee and Angus through YPI. The support of likeminded partners is vital for the ongoing success, growth, and impact of the programme.”

The successful team delivered a role play focussing on the issue of mental health which impressed the judges.

Ranjit Fernandez leads YPI at Lathallan. He said:

“It was a privilege to manage and deliver a YPI Final Showcase which showcased a broad range of social issues impacting our local communities. Our young people, once again, showed great teamwork, resilience, and maturity throughout the programme.

“The  achievements of our pupils over the last eight years was recognised as one of the reasons for Lathallan winning the Independent School of the Year 2021 award.

“It was also wonderful to host Blair Thomson of The Northwood Charitable Trust as a judge, especially as he is an Old Lathallian and this was his first return to Lathallan since 1960. We hope that our current pupils will learn from this that their philanthropic journey never has to end and that they can continue to do so much good beyond school and in their future professional careers.”

Through YPI, young people work in teams to identify a social cause impacting their community and a charity addressing this issue. They conduct research then develop a presentation to detail the impact a £3000 grant would have locally. It is an opportunity for young people across an entire year group to lead their learning, developing key skills while raising awareness and funds for causes which they are passionate about.

YPI is a programme of The Wood Foundation which was established by Sir Ian Wood in 2007.