Visiting the city to make their pitch

Students from Fir Vale Academy in Sheffield visited the Headquarters of Westfield Health recently with their athlete mentor Paul Broadbent, to deliver their social action pitch to a Dragon’s Den panel made up of Westfield Health employees.

Sixteen students attended from the school and for many of the young people this was the first time they had been into the city centre, and certainly the first time they have had the opportunity to visit a facility such as Westfield House. The main task of the day was to present in small groups their ideas for their social action project to the Dragons and get the all-important funding to put on the day. All the groups were understandably nervous beforehand, but they all performed well on the day, explaining what the sports day was about, who would benefit and what resources they needed in order to be successful. Andy Fairweather and Bryony Hiscock from Westfield Health were on the Dragon’s Den panel and after a few probing questions about the day, which the groups answered confidently, they authorised the funding so the events could take place.

Mohammed who is the group’s teacher at Fir Vale said:

“We’ve taken 16 kids from different cultures and backgrounds and Paul has taken them from a group that’s really shy to one that’s able to stand up and talk on a day like today. Paul talked about his personal life which they can relate to which has helped then develop their confidence and resilience

Some of these young people have just never left their areas before. We’re only 3 or 4 miles away from school here but most of them have never been to the centre of the city before so coming somewhere like Westfield House in the middle of city and the English Institute of Sport we went to before is amazing. For them to come here and see some of the facilities in a workplace, the pool table, the gym etc, that really gives them an idea of what opportunities are out there for them in the future.

Paul has been absolutely different class, his experience not only as a professional but just in life in general. For him to tell them stories about his life, and when he was about their age and the difficulties he went through then, has been massively important for them because they can relate to that and build on that and hopefully in the future they’ll be just as successful.”

Following the presentations, the group had a tour of the facility and were given the opportunity to play pool and table football in one of the breakout areas as well as visiting the Wellbeing space on the ground floor of the building. Along with the other eleven schools taking part in the On Track to Achieve programme, they are currently delivering their social action projects in their local communities, before coming together for the end of programme celebration event at Sheffield United’s home ground on July 13th.

We’re very grateful for the support from Westfield Health. Our three year partnership with them is allowing us to support over 200 young people a year in Sheffield through both school based and community programmes to develop confidence, resilience and self esteem alongside improving their physical and mental wellbeing.