Youth Achievement Award

Year 9 & 10 Youth Achievement Award group, Hengrove Community Arts College, Hengrove, Bristol

A group of enthusiastic and committed young people have been working with youth workers from the Knowle West Detached Project to complete a Bronze Youth Achievement Award. The award, lasting ten months, is made up of four challenges. Each challenge has a different focus. At the start of each challenge students set learning targets. They must then produce evidence demonstrating how they met each target.

For their final challenge, the students chose a pinhole photography project and took pictures of Brunel’s suspension bridge, which they entered into the ‘Hats off to Brunel’ exhibition at the Create Centre. The exhibition formed part of the Brunel 200 celebrations. Although their entry did not claim first prize, the judges decided to award their exhibit a ‘special award’ of £50 in recognition of the creativity, hard work and dedication shown by all involved. So impressed were judges, artists and visitors alike that the photographs caught the eye of Bristol International Airport staff.  

They felt the photographs would make a positive contribution to the appeal of the Arrivals area of the airport. Fully enlarged to A1 size, the works of art are now giving all those arriving into the South West region some interesting perspectives on Brunel’s famous landmark to ponder whilst on their way to collect their bags. 

This has been a fantastic achievement for all the young people concerned and something of which they are rightly proud, look out for their images next time you fly into Bristol!