Gracie May is a 14-year-old female student at Formby High School and is currently in Year 9. Gracie is generally a very happy and pleasant young girl; she has a wonderful sense of humour and is a pleasure to be around. Gracie has adapted really well to the 12-week Onside Programme and has tackled her anxiety head on by taking part in the course and meeting new people in her group. Gracie is very enthusiastic and has the ability to ‘lift’ every learner in the group, even when the activities are not what the whole group want to do.

In 2017, Gracie’s life changed forever when her mum passed away very suddenly. In 2019, her father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and sadly passed away and in 2021, her grandmother passed away too. Gracie has a very supportive family, that now consist of her aunt, uncle and three adult cousins, who are helping her to get through her grief, whilst maintaining good attendance in school. Despite this family tragedy, Gracie continues to fully engage and maintain a great relationship with her peers and teachers in school.

Over the 12 weeks working with Gracie, the team have seen a huge difference in her outlook and personality. She is a lot more confident and an excellent example of this is the contribution Gracie made to the cake sale to raise money for children with cancer. This was an enterprise project as part of the Prince’s Trust Achieve award, where students get the opportunity to create a small enterprise project to raise money for charity of their choice. Her drive and enthusiasm helped raise £103.

We believe that the Onside Programme, has enabled her to develop core skills that will help her for the rest of educational journey and her future. Gracie wants to do well in school and, although she does not talk about the future much, has discussed becoming a nurse or a teacher. I think the programme has been vital to Gracie, as it has provided opportunities to enhance her self-esteem and show her that she is valued, and that her hard work is appreciated.

Gracie has completed two qualifications over the 12-week Onside programme, both at the interval verification stage. She has learnt and developed skills and techniques such as self-belief, self-management skills and the importance of communication skills that allow her to explain herself eloquently and without getting frustrated. Gracie has made a huge difference to the group as it has helped the other students see the true value of the work they have completed.

She reinforces the club’s values, showing dignity in the face of adversity, commitment to the programme, never giving up when she could easily do so, ambition to do well in school and be the best person she can be, and unity by working together to bring the best out of everyone. Gracie is an inspiration, to staff and students alike, she inspires people to be a better a person and not take anything for granted.

A worthy winner, congratulations again Gracie May.