15 November, 2022
Staff and students at Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy put on a “Halloween Fright Night” of entertainment for friends, family, and the local community last week. The event aimed to reduce students’ screentime, get people outdoors exploring, and enjoy spending time interacting with people as part of multiple activities being run by the #WeWillExplore project.
Screams and laughter could be heard from the streets as over 400 people made their way through the scare maze, before undertaking spell school, wizards and witches science, visiting the haunted graveyard and watching dance routines complete with ghosts. The walking route was lined with over 100 pumpkins carved by students and people from the local community. Staff and Young Enterprise students had an array of hot dogs, drinks and handmade baked tasty treats in the food court.
For weeks students and staff had planned, crafted and designed the Fright Night themed 1 kilometre walking route. People loved the experience, with one student claiming,
“Best Halloween Night EVER!”
Sarah Martindale, regional enrichment and social action co-ordinator – north and west, said,
“It was a pleasure to see how many pupils were involved and to hear and see their excitement and pride to be part of the event. Seeing them enjoying fun experiences with friends and family brings the entire project purpose to light. The sense of team spirit and community amongst staff and pupils was uplifting.”
Parents took to Facebook and said,
“Absolutely amazing night. Well done to everyone involved you definitely went above and beyond to make it a great Fright Night”.
The #WeWillExplore project aims to develop students’ confidence, boost their resilience and improve their daily exercise and mental wellbeing. Compared to 50 years ago, young people are spending less and less time outdoors. By the time they reach the age of seven, they will have spent the equivalent of 456 days looking at a screen – an average of four hours a day. Compared to this, only 182 days will have been spent outdoors, which equates to around an hour and a half a day.
Another part of Ilkeston’s #WeWill Explore youth social action project is their newly formed partnerships with local primaries, such as Granby Junior School.
We think activities like Fright Night and youth social action projects like #WeWill Explore, are valuable opportunities to get young people outdoors, exploring, whilst making it fun.
Category: News
Tags: #Ilkeston, #iwill, #WeWill, #WeWill Explore, #youthsocialaction
