1. Young activists: school stories 2013
Schools around the UK took part in many different ways – from making messages to handing them to their local MP to visiting Downing Street. Read their stories.
Young activists: school stories 2013

2. Making messages

3. Some children added labels to describe their ideal teacher, while older pupils wrote to our local MP. Pupils all watched videos from Send My friend, and letters and examples of work were sent to the MP.
A few weeks later 6th form students from a local secondary school came and presented an assembly on a global awareness theme and ran a workshop with Year 6 to demonstrate the inequalities in education.
At Brinkworth Earl Danby’s CE School in Wiltshire, all pupils from reception to Year 6 made puppets or cut-out teachers.

4. 800 pupils from Churchtown Primary School in Southport, Mersyside took part in a range of activities.
Year 1 made a shape to represent a teacher in a year group photograph, and Year 3 took some of the ideal teachers that they and the rest of the school had made outside with children sitting on the ground reading books while the teachers looked on. Year 4 pupils put their ideal teachers onto washing lines around their classrooms, and some children also held a Cake Bake sale to raise money for a teacher’s salary.

5. Activities in subject lessons

6. Year 7,8,9 made ‘teachers’ which they hung around the school
Year 7,8,9 made ‘teachers’ which they hung around the school. They posted letters and some ‘teachers’ to their local MP Theresa May and to David Cameron.
Year 7,8,9 at Clare’s Court Senior Girls School in Maidenhead, made these ‘teachers’ during Geography lessons.

7. Bradley Stoke Community School in south Gloucestershire ran sessions during Enrichment week.
They ran a session during our Enrichment Week where pupils learnt about what life was like for children in different parts of the world and how much they would value an education. The pupils then made a huge 'ideal' teacher which included all the messages that they wanted to get across. They took a photo of some of the pupils with this teacher and sent it to Jack Lopresti – the local MP. The pupils also wrote articles for the school newsletter and local press and they planned ways in which to spread the word of the Send my Friend to School campaign to the new Year 7s next year.

8. Holding assemblies

9. “Last year the school council were involved in the Send a friend to school project – it was a great success thanks to the support of the children and parents.
The school council ran the project and were very keen to be involved with another one. So when we knew that the project was continuing they were eager to support Every Child Needs a Teacher!”
The school council at Delves Infant and Nursery School in Walsall held an assembly with 180 children as part of the campaign.

10. Eco groups made ideal teachers and held assemblies at Kyleakin Primary School on the Isle of Skye.
“As part of our Eco Groups we got together and watched the campaign film. Then each group went away to discuss and plan their ideal teacher. Each group made a teacher puppet. Our local youth worker Dave came to visit to see what we were doing and he is going to share the message with local schools when he does assemblies. We shared our ideas and have sent them to our local MP Charles Kennedy. We have also sent pictures to our local newspaper and hope they might include them in the near future.

11. Running events

12. Millie and Sam invited the whole of Year 9 as well as children from two local primaries to get involved with Send My Friend to School.
“We feel a need to push the Send My Friend campaign to its limits at Ringwood and beyond, and to this end we have been working over the past few weeks with a great group of Year 9 and 10 students who we call the Global Campaigners, and we have shared everything we learnt in Delhi. We have held weekly meetings and now the Campaigners are really useful in our campaign to get 1.7 million teachers into school!
So on June 21st, it was the team of Global Campaigners who taught the lessons to Year 9. Each person worked in a tutor group who looked at case studies; designed ‘ideal teacher’ puppets and ideal schools, tweeted and wrote to MPs, and in fact every politician possible!
We also held a special assembly and workshop sessions for Year 6 students from Ringwood Juniors and Broadstone Middle School. We wanted to make sure that as many people as possible get to hear children’s stories and the challenges they face in getting a quality education.”
Watch their video film.
Young ambassadors, Millie and Sam, held a special ‘Education for All Day’ on June at Ringwood School, Hampshire.

13. The pupils presented more than 700 cut-out teachers they had made and gave them to Lynne to give to the Prime Minister to remind the UK government of their promise to make sure all children have access to primary education by 2015.
Alisa Robb 11, said “I’ve realised that we’re lucky to all have the chance to get an education in our country, and that without it, people can get stuck in a circle of poverty”. David Saipe, also 11 said: “I’ve learnt how important it is to make sure girls get an education. When a mother has been educated, her children are much more likely to live beyond the age of five.”
Lynne Featherstone said, “It is great to see the hard work the young people at Rhodes Avenue have put into to the Send My Friend to School campaign. Every child has the right to a good education and the UK Government is working to achieve it in many of the world’s poorest countries. By 2015 UK Government support will have helped train 190,000 teachers and to get 11 million children into school.”
Watch the video of running an event.
Rhodes Avenue Primary School in London invited Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and DfID Minister, back to school.

14. MPs go back to school

15. “We wanted every child in the school to take part so, to keep it simple, each child was given a template to cut out and colour to make themselves and a friend holding hands. They each wrote their message on the back. Each class joined their work to make a long 'paper chain' of children.
We invited Andy Sawford, our local MP, to come to school to receive our messages on the chains to take to London. He has since replied and hopes to arrange for some children to visit the Houses of Parliament in September. We decorated our hall with paper chains and posters for his visit and one group held up their chain around the hall. It looked very impressive!
The children's messages were simple but to the point and showed good understanding of what we are all trying to achieve. They also had a lot of fun taking part.”
330 pupils at Danesholme Infant School in Corby got involved in Send My Friend to School activities.

16. 800 students from Wilnecote High School participated in the campaign, sending ideal teachers to their local MP.
Groups of students worked on writing messages and six life size ideal cut-out teachers were presented to the local MP, Christopher Pincher.
800 students from Wilnecote High School in Tamworth took part in the campaign.

17. Pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School in Orkney have been raising awareness about the 1.7 million more teachers needed to make it possible for every child to have a primary education by 2015.
Pupils handed out leaflets to raise awareness about the campaign in Kirkwall town, and also gave cut out teacher puppets and messages to their MP and MSP asking them to remind world leaders of their promise to ensure every child has an education.
Pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School in Orkney have been raising awareness about the 1.7 million ‘missing’ teachers.

18. 210 students from Brookhouse Primary School in Blackburn invited their MP, Jack Straw to school to hand over messages. He made sure David Cameron received them.
“Our whole school wrote letters to David Cameron and made cut out teachers. We then invited Jack Straw, our local MP to come and receive these, listen to our ideas and then represent us to David Cameron. This was during the G8 Summit so the children saw David Cameron meeting Angela Merkel and Barak Obama and realised that if Mr Cameron represented them it would be on a world stage and they could really make a difference. The children really campaigned and, having read up on Jack Straw (who still stands on a soap box), the children presented their ideas ... on a soap box! Mr Straw was blown away and told the children he had never had a representation about Send My Friend to School. The children had also found out that Mr Straw was being presented with a special award for being the longest serving MP in Blackburn, so a cake was ordered and the children made a special presentation. BBC Radio Lancashire interviewed children and teachers from the school, Bee Radio and the Lancashire Evening Post covered the event too. It was such an exciting morning; a very special memory for us all!”

19. Pupils at these schools made more than 300 colourful cut-out teacher figures which they brought to deliver in person to 10 Downing Street. Following a tour of the Houses of Parliament, our young campaigners paid a visit to their MP, David Jones, who is the Secretary of State for Wales.
The next step was to deliver their teacher messages to 10 Downing Street and it was after this had happened that they met the Prime Minister as he was walking down the street. He was stopped in his tracks by a voice asking ‘Mr Cameron, will you Send My Friend to School?’ This gave our young campaigners a great opportunity to tell him a little about what they had been doing for Send My Friend to School and to pose for a quick photo with him!
Aimee Butler and Edward Patrick from Ysgol Pen Y Bryn said:
“We actually took the teacher figures that we made to 10 Downing Street and got to talk briefly to the Prime Minister, David Cameron. Bringing our work was a good idea because David Cameron understood what we were here about and we showed him that we were ready to do whatever it takes to get every child in school by We think the campaign will really help a lot of people get children into school and increase awareness. I thinks the trip will raise education on the politicians list of priorities.”
Their teacher, Tabitha Sawyer said:
“I think it was extremely important for our pupils to take part in this campaign as it gives them the opportunity to act locally and think globally. By coming to London to deliver their messages and teacher cut outs they have understood that their voices and values are listened to and have been heard by a World Leader. As global citizens of today and tomorrow I consider being part of such a valuable campaign and a memorable experiences which have will stay with them for the rest of their lives and hopefully encourage them to continue to be concerned about such global issues.”
Watch a full interview with Tabitha explaining why she’s been part of this campaign for the last 8 years.
Pupils from Ysgol Pen Y Bryn and Ysgol St Elfod travelled 250 miles from Wales to Westminster where they had a surprise meeting with the Prime Minister.

20.
This project is funded by the European Union