On Saturday, 22nd March, LEH proudly hosted the SHINE Graduation event, celebrating the incredible achievements of forty Year 5 girls from local maintained schools. For the past 16 years, the SHINE Programme at LEH has been providing state primary school children in the area with an inspiring, fun, and supportive learning experience, and its popularity continues to soar. 

This year’s event was a heartfelt tribute to the hard work and dedication of these talented girls. To gain deeper insights into the celebration, two you can read an t written by two of our fantastic Lower 6 SHINE mentors, Anabelle S and Ayanna K have written an engaging account of the event below. 

"Every Saturday, a group of wonderful Year 5 students gathered at LEH to take part in a range of enriching lessons, led by our fantastic teachers, covering a cohort of subjects, ranging from Physics and English to Debating and even Fencing! In addition to academic opportunities, SHINE also offers pastoral support through the Lower 6 SHINE Mentors, who build strong mentor-mentee relationships during the weekly sessions. By fostering friendships, encouraging positive behaviour, and introducing children to secondary education opportunities, the SHINE Mentor Programme helps every participant develop the skills and confidence to succeed.  

On 22nd March, we hosted the SHINE Graduation event, where we celebrated the achievement of all the students that have worked extremely hard in the last five months. We, as SHINE Mentors, are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and diligence that they displayed every week, and we already miss them all very much! 

Being a SHINE Mentor has been incredibly rewarding as we were able to guide and support all the children that we met. We have all learnt how to be patient and understanding of others, especially knowing how to effectively communicate. During the lessons we have been able to create strong bonds with all girls we have met and have even kept in touch with them after the graduation.

Throughout the lessons, we were given a chance to assist and teach the girls alongside the amazing LEH staff, who have dedicated their own time to help out every Saturday. As SHINE Mentors we are also incredibly grateful to Miss Wright for making all this happen and allowing us to take on this opportunity which has been incredibly fulfilling, and we have gained many skills from the experience. "

You can find out more about our SHINE Programme HERE.