Winners: 2024 Next Generation Awards

October 17, 2024, The Birmingham Civic Society (BCS) 19^th Next Generation Awards (NGA) Finals showcased the inspiring community projects created by young active citizens from secondary schools in Birmingham. This year’s event was hosted by the awards key sponsor – Birmingham Newman University. It proved to be an unforgettable evening celebrating the remarkable talents and achievements of young people.

A Night of Inspiration and Innovation

It was a night of vision and invention, the finals bringing together four exceptional finalists proudly representing their school: St George’s School Edgbaston, King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls, Harborne Academy and Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy Birmingham. Each group had to navigate qualifying rounds and  compete against other schools to reach the finals. They presented their community projects to panels of  judges, assembled by BCS, demonstrating their philanthropy, innovation, creativity, collaboration, hard work, communication and presentation skills.

The projects below were as diverse as they were impactful:

• Intergenerational Events: St George’s School Edgbaston, designed a program aimed at strengthening relationships between young people and senior citizens. Nurturing positive interactions, relationships and shared experiences to bring generations closer and allow mutual sharing of knowledge and wisdom through social exchanges. The activity was underpinned by events such as art classes, quiz afternoons, axe throwing, internet safety, cookery sessions and talent shows, resulting in a mutually beneficial greater understanding, learning and some new skills development.

• Lil’ Helpers – Pet Therapy: Harborne Academy, introduced an initiative aimed at enhancing ‘student well-being’ through the therapeutic benefits of animal companionship. The team took on the ever-growing issue of mental health within school age children. It’s proven that therapy dogs in schools can aid wellbeing, reduce stress, develop better social skills, raise self-esteem, help build trust in personal relationships and improve concentration levels. The unique project started by using dogs belonging to members of staff.

• Mother Tongue Mastery: King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls deigned a project focused on preserving native languages and cultural heritage to bridge generational divides and combat isolation. Aimed at school children who feel lost, anxious and misunderstood due to language barriers between elders and children within a family or community. The project would provide a cultural youth club within school, have a native musical disco and history masterclasses.  Volunteers would be recruited into the initiative with relevant skills and accreditations to teach languages to children empowering them to confidently interact and communicate with their elders.

• Young Carers Support: Eden Girl’s Leadership Academy presented a project establishing a support network for young carers. There are an estimated one million young carers in the UK and 800,000 of those are between the ages of 11-16. This initiative would provide mentorship, a buddying program, feel good hampers and supportive resources to help young carers manage stress, isolation, exhaustion and poor mental health – enabling these young carers to continue thrive despite the challenges of their environment.

Jane Bradley – Associate Dean Recruitment & Partnerships, Birmingham Newman University, provided the evenings opening keynote, The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Ken Wood and The Lady Mayoress of Birmingham, Mrs Barbara Wood were introduced and expressed their gratitude to the pupils and parents in attendance. Their support for the Next Generation Awards was greatly appreciated.

Each school was then introduced, presented their projects and delivered excellent power point presentations followed by questions from a formidable judging panel. The audience, made up of family, friends, school staff, fellow pupils, members of The Birmingham Civic Society and esteemed guests watched with anticipation and excitement as the competition unfolded and each team demonstrated a professional approach, calm, creativity, teamwork, knowledge, innovation and dynamism.

The Judges

The judging panel included Jacky Griffin – BCS Trustee (Chair of the Panel), Alison Cope – Anti-Violence Campaigner, Andrew Edgar – Senior lecturer Education at Birmingham Newman University, Linda Enow – Senior Lecturer Education & English Teacher and Ingrid Lee – Secondary Partnership Lead at Birmingham Newman University.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the judges retired into a small room to deliberate on the merits of each project and ultimately who would become the winners of the  19^th Next Generation Awards Final and receive a £1500 1st prize cheque donated by Birmingham Newman University and specialist support to bring their project to life.

During the interval and whilst the judges deliberated, The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Ken Wood took to the stage to talk about the positive impact of the Birmingham Civic Society’s Next Generation Awards and presented a commemorative plaque to each school that took part in the scheme this year. That was soon followed by the NGA School Star Awards, a new initiative introduced by BCS during lockdown. The award recognises and celebrates exceptional work being done by Birmingham’s Primary and Secondary schools across the city to help those in real need. Schools recognised were: Deanery CE Primary School for their commitment to fundraising for worthy causes, doing regular litter picks, parking patrols, Christmas and Easter card delivery to local-residents who may be feeling isolated or lonely. Deanery School also supported a ‘Walking & Cycling to school‘ initiative and donated 750 books to disadvantaged children. We thank them for their hard work!!

Eden Boys’ School created a school food bank initiative, a regular winter gift program aimed at senior citizens and homeless people in Birmingham, meals for the elderly and a second-hand uniform give away for parents and carers struggling with the cost of living.   

Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School provided outreach lessons to primary school students, aimed at fostering relationships between primary and secondary schools, enhancing PSHE provision for year five, actively promoting student leadership/development and supporting disadvantaged communities.

The NGA School Star Awards received loud cheers and hugely appreciative applause as each school was recognised for the contribution and positive change they are making to benefit their local communities.

Next Generation Award Winners 2023

Looking back to last year, the winners of the NGA Final 2023, King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls for their ‘Crime Busters Project‘ advocating anti-knife crime. The winning team took to the stage along with their mentor and project support manager Alison Cope, an anti-violence campaigner, to talk about the development of their project of knife crime prevention and knife crime education, over the past year. With some insightful feedback from the students and their mentor, giving the audience a window into the tremendous effort and hard work that goes into making their project an active community asset.

Stephanie Bloxham – Chair of The Birmingham Civic Society provided an overview of all the work, projects and outcomes delivered by the committees for  Heritage, Planning, Public Art and Citizenship along with the benefits of becoming an individual member or corporate member of the society which leads to supporting the wonderful initiatives such as the Next Generation Awards or Blue Plaque Creations.

The judges returned from their deliberating and it was time for announcing the winning project. Chair of the Judging Panel – Jacky Griffin, took centre stage to announce that St George’s School, Edgbaston and their ‘Intergenerational Project’, was the Winner of the 19th Next Generation Awards 2024.

Their outstanding intergenerational project partnered with two local care homes, was already operating successfully with positive outcomes for all involved. The award and 1st prize cheque for £1500 will allow them to support and develop the project further. More loud cheers and applause from the audience accompanied the beaming smiles from the winning team.

“This win is exhilarating!” exclaimed the jubilant students from St George’s School. “It’s been an exciting journey, and we’re eager to continue making a positive impact in our community, we are very happy!”

Luke Nicholls, Headteacher at t George’s School Edgbaston said: ‘Our students at St. George’s School thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the intergenerational project.  Our students predominantly from Year 8 and 9 worked as a team researching and canvassing school community views and opinions and then used these to plan their project with sustainability in mind. The final stage of the project involved the students delivering a range of different activities that were engaging for our local older generation participants but also both fun and educational for them.

All students involved benefitted hugely from the transferable skills they developed throughout the project. They are now already passing on those skills to other younger students in school who will look to keep the project running for years to come. It’s clear that our students really enjoyed the work and enjoyed the working relationships they developed and learnt lots from the interactions they had with the older generation in our local community.’

Recognition and Future Impact

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Ken Wood and BCS Chair, Stephanie Bloxham presented The St Georges team with the NGA shield and a cheque for £1500 that would contribute towards further development of the Intergenerational Project. Additionally, they will receive expert mentorship to support their ongoing efforts.

Stephanie Bloxham – Chair of the Birmingham Civic Society, expressed her pride in the students’ accomplishments: “We witnessed an exceptional display of ambition, passion, and enthusiasm. The positive impact these projects will have on the community is truly inspiring.”

Special recognition was also given to the dedicated teachers and parents whose unwavering support helped guide the students through their journey.

In 2025 we begin the 20th year of the NGAs, the excitement for what lies ahead is palpable. BCS encourages schools across Birmingham to participate and continue nurturing the next generation of civic leaders.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Jo Dunlop, Next Generation Awards Project Manager, whose tireless dedication was once again key to the success of this inspiring event.

Jo Dunlop said: “The finals night is always such an uplifting and positive occasion and this year was no exception. The scheme is such a great way to get everyone thinking about how we can all do our bit to make a real difference. It was also great to be able to host the finals at Birmingham Newman University this year who also sponsor the £1500 prize money, their support has been invaluable to the scheme meaning that we can put these passionate young people’s ideas into action.’

Jane Bradley, Associate Dean Recruitment & Partnerships, Faculty of Education, for Birmingham Newman University said: ‘Birmingham Neman University was truly delighted to host the Next Generation Awards. It was clear from the remarkable projects presented that they had not only fostered collaborative working within school teams, but had also made a significant impact on the wider community. The evening was both inspiring and a powerful reminder of the vital importance of community engagement and active participation in creating positive change.’

Join the Movement!

For more information about the Next Generation Awards and how your school can get involved, visit our website or connect with us on social media. Together, we can continue to inspire and empower the young pioneers of Birmingham!

About Birmingham Civic Society

The Birmingham Civic Society is committed to promoting civic pride and community engagement. Through various programs and awards, we empower individuals and organisations to make a meaningful difference in their communities. Join us in celebrating the potential of Birmingham’s youth and their commitment to creating a brighter future for all!

If you would like to know more about BCS or would like to become a corporate or individual member, click HERE

 The Birmingham Civic Society’s Next Generation Awards Scheme 2024 was made possible with kind support from Birmingham Newman University, Professional Polishing Services Ltd, Anthony Collins Solicitors and the generosity of a number of local Birmingham charitable trusts & foundations including The Dulverton Trust, The Baron Davenport’s Charity, The IM Properties Fund, The Grimmit Trust, The Edward & Dorothy Cadbury Charitable Trust, The Roughley Trust, The Limoges Charitable Trust, The Miss Albright Grimley Trust, The Roger & Douglas Turner Trust, The GJW Turner Trust, The Harry Payne Trust – Heart of England Community Foundation and The WE Dunn Charitable Trust.

THANK YOU!