Three local school children are exchanging 20 hours of school for 20 hours service at St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester.
The Year 10 students from The River School are undertaking the community service as part of their vocational Asdan qualification, a nationally recognised qualification and training body.
William Deane, Connor Baird and Habibah Zamir, all aged 14, are working with staff at the hospice supporting visitors, as well as helping with gardening and general maintenance for two hours each week for a 10 week period.
Robert Standfield, Head of Education at St Richard’s Hospice said : “We welcomed the opportunity to give the students a variety of work experience in the hospice. It’s a very good way to give them an insight into how we care for patients and families and what hospice care means within our local community. We hope they have learned from the experience and will also help spread the word about hospice care through their own networks.”
Carol Parry, Headteacher at The River School said : “We are absolutely delighted that William, Connor and Habibah have been given the opportunity to serve their local community in such a way. We approached St Richard’s Hospice to see if it could help facilitate our young people’s ASDAN challenge and have been so pleased with all the positive feedback; such real life situations help them grow in confidence, learning how to be caring citizens. We cannot thank Robert and his team enough for their fabulous help and support.”
Listen to Habibah and teacher Stephanie Boyd Speaking to Michael collie on BBC Hereford and Worcester’s Sunday Breakfast show about their hospice experience.