Birchwood Young Carers
A support group for students
who are caring for family members
A young carer is someone who helps care for a relative with a disability, illness, mental health issue, or a drug or alcohol problem. Birchwood Young Carers meet once a week on a Wednesday lunchtime in A3. This is an opportunity for students to chat with a member of staff about any issues they might be having, as well as having some time with peers who have similar caring responsibilities, playing games and chilling out. Any student is welcome to come along and be part of the group – whether they are a young carer or whether they would like to be a Birchwood Young Carer Ambassador and help raise the profile of young carers within school.
Latest news and information
Willow Sculptor
The young carers group took part in a workshop run by sculptor Tom Hare. Tom is a renowned willow sculptor and has had his worked installed across the world, including Kew Gardens, Anne Hathaway’s house and Las Vegas. He worked with students to create “flying seeds” which have been installed by the greenhouse near C block. It is a fair to say the process was a test in the art of patience and perseverance as it was very intricate work. However, the results are outstanding! I would like to thank Bishop’s Stortford Rotary club for their incredibly generous funding of the entire workshop.
Mr Harlow, Young Carers
Christmas was delivered to Birchwood Young Carers by Waitrose.
Christmas was delivered to Birchwood Young Carers by Waitrose. Tracy Whitfield, Community marketing champion from the Bishop’s Stortford branch came to school loaded with hampers for our Young Carers and food and drink to get the party started. The Young Carers enjoyed the celebrations, pulled crackers and partied with their friends. We’d like to thank Tracy for taking the time and preparing such amazing hampers and making Christmas time special for our young carers.
Young Carers went to The Vire Zone escape room
Birchwood’s Young Carers went to The Vire Zone escape room in Bishop’s Stortford for an end of term trip. Students had the opportunity to try several virtual reality experiences – including spaceships, rollercoasters and defending a medieval town from invaders. There was also a chance to take part in an exciting shoot out experience in the Nerf arena before being treated to a pizza lunch. The main event of the day, however, was the main escape room, The Dam Busters, where students had to work as a team in order to crack codes and break free (which also involved some phenomenal teamwork in guiding an electric car through a tube!). The day was enjoyed by all and we would like to express our huge gratitude to Ian, Mel and Bec at The Vire Zone for providing such a fantastic experience.