OPERATION REGENERATION – RICHMOND STUDENTS INVOLVED IN ‘LOWER SCHOOL’ PLANS CONSULTATION
17 December 2024 | Sven Wardle | Posted in: Community, News, Student Leaders
Some time ago we were contacted by The National Centre for Rural Innovation (NICRE), based at Newcastle University. They had been contracted by the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust (RBPT) to carry out a series of consultations and community engagement initiatives to gather opinions and ideas about the future of the currently derelict and deteriorating Richmond Old Grammar School – Lower School. The project was called ‘Operation Regeneration’.
NICRE asked us whether we would be interested in getting involved and whether they could consult our students for their ideas – we said yes, of course!
Over the course of the term, we worked closely with NICRE and RBPT to come up with a plan that would involve as many students as possible, asking them for their ideas about the future of a building that has a special place in the hearts of many members of the Richmondshire community.
This is what happened:
Operation Regeneration was introduced and explained to all students from Years 8 to 13 in their assemblies and students were asked to start thinking and talking about ideas.
All tutor groups were involved in a 30-minute session, led by their tutors, where ideas were collected, analysed, evaluated and passed on to each group’s tutor representative.
Tutor representatives from 28 tutor groups attended an hour-long meeting where they narrowed down their year group’s best ideas and started to devise a ‘pitch’ they could present to representatives from NICRE and RBPT – Dragon’s Den style.
Tutor representatives worked independently to finalise their presentations.
Finally, we welcomed six guests – representatives from NICRE and the RBPT – into our library. They played the role of the Dragons (but they were very friendly!) and listened to 10-minute ‘pitches’ from each year group in turn – 8 to 13. They took notes, listened attentively and asked questions. It was quite a high-pressure situation for our students!
All students performed brilliantly – our visitors were genuinely impressed with the quality of the presentations and the thoughtful and in-depth way in which the students had analysed the pros and cons of their ideas. From an observer’s perspective, it was very impressive to see the results of the students’ hard work and the commitment they demonstrated during the presentations.
Chris Brown, CEO of The Richmond Building Preservation Trust, said: “It was thoroughly enjoyable working with Richmond School and the enthusiasm shown towards Operation Regeneration by the hundreds of students involved was exceptional. To ensure the sustainability of a regenerated Old Grammar School site, the voices and needs of our local young people need to be heard. I feel we achieved that and so much more with Richmond School, culminating in an engaging Dragon’s Den session. Each year group’s pitches were engaging, thought provoking, and demonstrated just how much these young people care for the heritage of Richmond and its diverse community and needs. Keep an eye out – some of those creative ideas may become reality as we push forward with the project!”.
Arlo Wheatley, Year 12 student, gave his perspective: “As soon as I saw the assembly on Operation Regeneration, I knew I wanted to get involved. When we were thinking about and pitching ideas in our tutor group, I loved hearing about everyone’s ideas and contributing as much as possible. Mrs Fenney, our tutor, then asked who wanted to be a representative. There were lots of volunteers, so she collected everyone’s name into a hat and pulled two out – including mine! I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to start preparing for the tutor representative meetings and the speech in front of the ‘Dragons’. The day finally came when we had to pitch our ideas. All the Year 12 representatives had decided to wear formal outfits (suits and ties) which created a real sense of unity and just added to the fun and surreal experience. I was terrified, of course, to speak in front of people but it was an amazing and just superb experience!”
Thank you to everyone who was involved in what turned out to be quite a significant project: Miss Dowson, Mrs Byrom, Miss Abbey and all the students, tutors and tutor representatives from Richmond School and Sixth Form College. Also thanks to Natalie Partridge from NICRE as well as the six ‘Dragons’: Chris Brown, Matt Ward and Matt Reed from RBPT; Alan Gerono, Melanie Thompson-Glen and Evie Tait from NICRE.
We look forward to hearing about the progress of Operation Regeneration and strengthening the links we have made with both the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust and the National Centre for Rural Innovation.