Rights respecting school spreads message in song

A RIGHTS respecting Swansea school is spreading the message of tolerance throughout the city with a song written and performed in Welsh.

Penyrheol Comprehensive School’s ‘Run galon sy gyda ni’ or ‘Our hearts are all the same’ has scooped an award from the Show Racism the Red Card charity.

The piece has been written and performed by pupils Olivia Brayley, Megan Coslett, Aimee-Marie Davies, Lori Milsom and Caitlin O’Brien.

It will be shared across schools in the city as a theme tune for respect and tolerance for youngsters across all age groups.

Cllr Christine Richards, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “Da iawn –   well done – to Penryheol pupils for putting their talents towards spreading such a positive message.

“We have been very supportive of Show Racism the Red Card and hundreds of youngsters have benefitted from their visits to schools as a result.

“Working with the charity is just one of the ways the local authority and schools promote harmony among pupils and their wider communities.

“It’s part of our work to educate children of their rights and their responsibility to respect the rights of others through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Swansea was the first UK council to decide to have due regard for the UNCRC and it is great to see how pupils are active participants in that work.”

Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism educational charity that harnesses the power of positive role models from football and other sports to engage with young people and talk about racism in their communities.

Penyrheol’s award from the charity comes as the school celebrates achieving Level 1 status in the Unicef Rights Respecting Schools programme.

That’s because children’s rights have become embedded throughout school life and used to help children and young people to become involved in everything from choosing activities and uniform to resolving classroom conflict and connecting with other children worldwide.

The school’s rights journey has also had a positive impact in key areas such as attendance and pupil attainment at key stages of learning and wellbeing.

Penyrheol is also using the Rights approach to support pupils who will moving from primary to the comprehensive in September. For example they have produced a transition booklet which links school information to articles of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child.

Judith Tanner, Deputy Headteacher, said: “Penyrheol Comprehensive School has had an ethos based on respect for others for a very long time and the message conveyed in our winning entry for the SRTRC competition underpins many of the Children’s Rights listed in the UNCRC and our core values here in school.

“We are also delighted with our success in achieving Level 1 status in the Rights Respecting School Award and we are especially proud of our Year 11 pupils who have been worthy RRS ambassadors for Penyrheol and our local community.

“They have been an absolute credit to our school and we wish them all the very best in their future careers.  As a school, we look forward to carrying on with our RRS journey and we are confident that this journey will continue to impact in a very positive way on our school ethos, our attainment and our pupils’ well-being.”