Bonfire Night Newsletter

04 November 2009

Mischief Night; Who Will Get Hurt?

Young people from Knowsley who have recently been involved in Ariel’s 'Oct 30th: Who Will Get Hurt?' project took over 99.8 FM KCC LIVE, showing off the adverts, interviews and vox pops they had produced on the project.
The ‘Open Air’ show on KCC LIVE was dedicated to a discussion of the campaign designed by young people who looked at anti-social behaviour around mischief night and bonfire night. One of the young people, Megan Hope, also took part in a live interview in which she talked about her experiences.

The young people aged 13 – 15 produced a series of adverts and interviews on the theme of anti-social behaviour as part of the second PAYP project held in Huyton. The project also included putting up the poster they designed all over community venues across Knowsley, as well as a tour of the Radio City tower.

To listen to one of the interviews click on the icon on the right-hand side of the web article by following this link.

Keeping The Heat Off The Street

Hundreds of young people will be safer this Bonfire Night thanks to a series of citizenship learning packs developed by Ariel Trust. At one school 93% of pupils who watched the film had changed their opinions about anti-social behaviour.
Devised in collaboration with the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, “Drawing the Line” deals with issues linked to anti-social behaviour, including arson.

What’s more, teachers who use the packs are experiencing dramatic improvements in exam grades.  Croxteth-based St John Bosco Arts College delivered the pack in its English curriculum. Head of English Marie Jones says:, “The results achieved using this learning pack represent a significant improvement on last year”.

The contents of the pack have been mapped against the GCSE English curriculum.  Ariel Trust says the pack makes life easy for the teacher, providing as it does all the resources required to complete 3 pieces of GCSE course work: a speaking and listening assignment, a piece of original writing and a media assignment.

Ariel Trust Director Paul Ainsworth comments:
“ These learning packs not only improve GCSE results, they deliver clear, measurable changes in young people's attitudes. They get them talking and thinking. The packs prove it is possible for schools to deliver high quality citizenship education in a crowded curriculum and at the same time improve exam performance.”

To find out more or purchase Ariel Trust learning resources click here.