Turning the tables

The Young People's Parliament is another way in which children and young people are making their voice heard in the city

Children and young people will be helping run the city in positions of power on national Children Takeover Day on November 23. They will shadow and attend meetings with Hull City Council leader Cllr Carl Minns, chief executive Kim Ryley, and other high ranking councillors and council officers. Businesses and other organisations in Hull are also being urged to open their doors and take part – in a day that celebrates the importance of children and young people by letting them contribute to the adult world of work. "It's a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the positive contribution children can make at a time when there is so much demonisation of young people in our society," said Sir Al Aynsley Green, the Children's Commissioner for England, who has organised the day. "I really hope firms, businesses, the local media and other organisations take part and perhaps ask children to help them solve whatever work-related problems they are facing. "How they run the day is for them to decide, but they can showcase how they already involve children or use it as an opportunity to start doing so."

For more information on Children Takeover Day and how to get involved please contact Hull Children's Fund on 300300.

Fishing for opportunity

It was a day they'll never forget when young people aged between 11 and 14 from Bransholme's Astra Youth Centre went on a fishing trip to Halsham Ponds, near Withernsea.
The trip was paid for by the Youth Opportunities Fund after the young people themselves submitted a bid for funds.
It was run in partnership with a group of youngsters from the Preston Road Neighbourhood Development Centre (NDC).
"The older kids from NDC helped some of the younger ones from Bransholme by showing them the ropes a bit and teaching them some techniques," said Daniel Pointon, youth worker at the Astra Youth Centre.
The centre, based within the Winifred Holtby School site, on Midmere Avenue, is open between 6-8pm on Mondays and Fridays (and for special projects on Thursdays).
It offers kayaking, table tennis, computers, tuck shop and a small gym.
Young people can also learn circus skills and magic tricks on some evenings.
For more information contact 300300.

Big hit 'down under'

After saving up for more than a year, pupils from an east Hull school made the trip of a lifetime to Australia, where they performed in front of 4,000 people and even ended up on the local TV news.

Archbishop Thurstan pupils outside Sydney Opera House

It really was a natural high for the pupils of Archbishop Thurstan School.
Their eight-minute dance performance called 'A Pair o' Dice Lost' recreated the mods and rockers era of the 1960s.
And it caused such a stir with the 4,000-strong crowd at the 'Rock Eisteddfod' event in Wollongong, New South Wales, that the group were featured on the local TV news.
The performance had already scooped top prize at last year's Lifestyle Rock Challenge event, held at Grimsby Auditorium, where the group beat off competition from schools across the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
And as a follow on to that triumph, the east Hull teenagers, aged 13 to 17, were invited on the Australia trip.
A total of 58 people made the journey, including current and former Archbishop Thurstan pupils, teachers and parents.
For almost a year they had scrimped and saved and raised money at car boot sales and sponsored walks to help pay for the trip.
A grant from Hull City Council and other sponsorship also helped cover the cost.
"It was so uplifting to see young people enjoying themselves and being the best they can be," says Hayley Buchan, Archbishop Thurstan's drama team leader.
"Some of the pupils had never been abroad but they took it all in their stride and had no problems either with the performance or the flights via Manchester, Dubai, and Bangkok.
"We've since received emails from people who saw the show telling us how remarkable they think the pupils are and how they are a credit to the city."
The UK's annual Lifestyle Rock Challenge event encourages teenagers to take up music and dance as a way of finding a natural high, rather than resorting to artificial stimulants such as drugs and alcohol.