Students from Monkton Wood Academy have been working with their parish council recently to get a better understanding of local governance.
Keeleigh Bryant, Noah Day-Hitchen, Megan Luton, Effie Ellwood and Leo Cridge, from years 7-9, have worked alongside Kate Walsh from Monkton Heathfield Parish Council, and supported by Pastoral Support Officer Miss Kyle Williams in this new initiative.
The aim of this project is to help students understand the work of the parish council, play a part in making Monkton Heathfield a great place to live and go to school and get to know the local community better.
Monkton Wood students have been involved in the council’s community work in a number of ways. They have looked at urban planning, written and analysed questionnaires and provided ‘youth voice’ on a range of projects.
Most recently, they have supported Kate and a team of volunteers in replenishing the ‘community fridge’.
The community fridge is an important welfare initiative which was opened in July 2022. This project is run by community volunteers who collect food that would otherwise go to waste from local supermarkets.
This food is then shared with the community via the open access shed which is based at The Brittons Ash Community Hall (BACH.) The project is run in conjunction with the Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Bookers and M&S to help reduce food waste.
