A group of young people from Ferryhill came together to take on the KEY+ Challenge and make up their KEY+ Group, ‘You Can’t 6 With us’.

After a challenging period at school first with remote lockdown learning followed by disrupted learning due to RAAC concrete concerns, You Can't Six With Us wanted to end their schooling on a high and celebrate all year groups being back together.

The group came up with the unique idea to host a whole school event on the last day of term. The event involved various projects and activities such as a roller disco and a big draw. This benefited 700 people within the community!

The group said “our school has been through some rough times with RAAC and we thought it was a good opportunity to celebrate the end of all of the upheaval and every year group being back together. Our school community is really important to us because it is a place [where] we spend so much time.”

Throughout the planning process, the group told The Key how the project made them “feel excited” and that they have been able to challenge themselves to do great things.

Overall ‘You Can’t 6 With Us’ said that it was great to see that their peers were enjoying something that they had organised. They also spoke about the skills that they developed thanks to completing the KEY+ Challenging, saying that “we are now much more confident, this ranges from taking our project to panel, from believing in ourselves throughout the planning stages to being able to stand back and watch the project/event take place.”

The experience also provided growth for the group members in many areas such as planning large scale events, dealing with people in power and authority and communication.

‘You Can’t 6 With Us’ were thankful for the opportunity and said that “The Key is amazing and they support you and your ideas from start to finish.”