Students at a Leeds sixth form are celebrating, after delivering a series of presentations to a host of medical professionals, including doctors and consultants.

Four Year 13 students from the Sixth Form at Horsforth presented the sessions on bullying, exercise, confidentiality and aggression to practitioners from a branch of the NHS known as Healthier Together. Emilia Munoz, Sam Jubb, Isabelle Plowman, Beth Melia were offered the opportunity through the school’s enrichment programme, which is made up a host of extra-curricular activities.

The students said they were proud to be able to contribute to such a credible and important cause. They said: “This was a great opportunity for us, we met with a GP weekly and felt like our opinions were trusted. The work was recognised with certificates at the end of the project, which shows the NHS values young peoples’ opinions. It was fantastic to be involved in, and great relevant experience for the future.”

With a mission to support babies, children and young people across West Yorkshire, Healthier Together is a portal of trustworthy healthcare advice to parents, carers, young people and professionals. It has been vetted by local paediatricians, GPs and clinicians across the region to ensure it aligns with current practices and procedures.

The community initiative has also recently been shortlisted for an award. The Health Service Journal (HSJ) Digital Awards shine a light on digital products, projects and services that are transforming care delivery, enhancing efficiency, and improving patient outcomes.

Dr Nicole Allshorn is the Clinical Lead for the initiative as well as a GP at the Shipley Medical Practice. She added: “We are finalists and that's quite an achievement. We got to this stage, in part, because of the involvement young people have had in developing the site. We hope the portal will be a useful resource to young people and carers in West Yorkshire.”

The opportunity to contribute to Healthier Together, makes up one of more than 90 activities available to students at Horsforth School. As well as improving confidence, mental wellbeing and health, school enrichment has been linked to better academic outcomes and career prospects. According to a recent report by Onward, enrichment programmes offer opportunities to gain vital soft skills needed for the workplace. Also, enrichment can provide up to three months of additional progress in core subjects as research by the Education Endowment Foundation has found.

Oliver Watkins, Director of the Sixth Form at Horsforth and said exposure to such experiences can impact students’ future choices. He said: “Enrichment plays a significant role in a child’s school life - I work closely with many talented young students who will be our future leaders and creators and we see the impact projects like these can have on their long-term future. Healthier Together is a fantastic and important initiative and we’re honoured our students were invited to contribute.”