SEVEN students from Carmel College were at the QEII Centre in Westminster to celebrate completing the 2018 AQA Unlocking Potential programme.

The mentoring programme is for young people aged 14 to 19 who have faced personal challenges or disadvantages.

It is delivered in partnership with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, whose specially trained mentors competed at world-class sporting events - including the Olympics and Paralympics - and who have overcome their own significant personal challenges.

Over the last eight months Jamie, Kai, Lauren, Kylie, Harry, Nathan and Jacob have been working with their amazing athlete mentor from the Dame Kelly Holmes trust, Neil Danns, to help unlock hidden attributes and skills.

As part of the programme they delivered two social action projects.

The upper sixth participants in the programme, Jamie, Jacob, Kylie and Nathan, were drama and music students, so their project was based around organising a mini schools tour of a short contemporary version of ‘Macbeth’.

The students chose this because they wanted to help take drama into schools to inspire and educate young people through providing high quality performances.

The lower sixth participants, Lauren, Kai and Harry came up with the ‘pimp my zimmer’ campaign. The students raised money through a bake sale, to buy decorative items in order to customise the Zimmer frames of elderly people in Greenfields care home.

The students chose this as they really felt strongly about enabling the home residents, to easily identify their Zimmer frames - as this can reduce falls by up to 60 per cent

Their teacher, Erinna Delaney, who nominated them for the programme said: “It was a delight to work with these inspiring young people and to see how they can make a difference to their community.

“I was so proud of them at the award ceremony in London, and of all they’ve done throughout this programme.

“It’s been a real pleasure to be involved with AQA Unlocking Potential.”

Toby Salt, AQA’s chief executive, added: “AQA Unlocking Potential is an amazing programme and one that AQA is very pleased to be part of. Every year the young people taking part continue to amaze and impress us and it’s fantastic to see how far they have come over the last 8 months.

“Most people see us as just an exam board, but our motto is ‘realising potential’ and that goes for all young people, not just those taking our exams.

“This is where AQA Unlocking Potential really is very special - to be able to help these young people to truly realise their own potential is what AQA is all about.”

Dame Kelly Holmes, double gold Olympian and founder of Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, said: “AQA Unlocking Potential is not aimed at developing the potential of future sports stars, but is targeting young people facing disadvantage to help raise self-esteem, confidence and aspirations. Today is about celebrating their achievements.

“Listening to the journey these young people have been on is truly inspiring and they should all be really proud of what they’ve achieved.”

“The athlete mentors know what it takes to overcome adversity and have the will to succeed not only in sport, but in life too.

“I really can’t believe that AQA Unlocking Potential is now in its seventh year; it’s a fantastic programme and every year students excel.

“To see more young people transformed through this life-changing programme is amazing.

“We’d also like to thank players of People’s Postcode Lottery for supporting us to reach even more young people on the 2017/18 programme.”

For more information about the People's Postcode Lottery visit postcodelottery.co.uk.