Boost Project

Over the past month students and staff at Cheltenham Bournside School have been working in partnership with Gloucestershire Constabulary on a pilot education project. 

The Constabulary created curriculum, called Boost, focuses on developing self-leadership qualities that are designed to help children become emotionally intelligent young adults. Students from Year 12 took part initially, with Year 12 volunteers then delivering the sessions to students in Year 8 with support from the Constabulary team. 

The creative delivery included sessions that involved the students using shaken coke bottles to represent anxiety and stresses building before hearing advice on how not to 'flip your lid', and all students were able to share how they manage their feelings by using a flashlight to indicate the strategy that works best for them. Many of the sessions (including those pictured) took place before the guidance was tightened because of concerns about the Omicron variant. The resurgence of this anxiety-inducing virus demonstrates how important it proved to be to work to strengthen our students’ mental strength.

All of the content within Boost is relevant to the life experiences of young people, no matter what their background and is designed to help them lead from within; equipping them now with the skills they need to help them negotiate all the challenges that they will go on to face in life, in and out of school and beyond, as they move into the next stage in their life.

Sally Groves, Assistant Head, said, "We were delighted to host Gloucestershire Constabulary and their dynamic Boost programme. Over 400 students took part, and the creative execution of the course content ensured high engagement throughout. We are looking forward to working with the project again in the summer."

Kevin Warren, Head of Sixth Form said: "The Sixth Form students who delivered the Boost curriculum to younger students in the school did an outstanding job. It provided an excellent opportunity to reflect on their own learning styles, to develop their leadership skills and it's a unique project to add to their personal statements and CVs too."