World AIMS; We Are All Born Free

Pupils at Truro School Prep came off timetable on Tuesday for World AIMS Day, led by our school chaplain, Rev Helen.

World AIMS (which stands for World Action in Methodist Schools) encourages young people across the globe to think beyond themselves and to make a difference in today’s society. Its purpose is to allow us all to take time to consider how we can be ‘good global neighbours’ by looking after one another, our world and finding our voice to speak up for those who can’t.

It is based on the Wesleyan teaching to “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

This was the first time World AIMS has been held at the Pre-Prep, and it was certainly a memorable experience as even our youngest pupils were challenged to explore the theme, ‘We are all born free.’

“We are all born free” is the opening line of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a milestone document adopted by the United Nations in 1948. It underscores the fundamental principle that all human beings are born with inherent dignity and equal rights.

Across Truro School Prep, pupils came together to create a giant version of this phrase, with messages about freedom written on each letter by the children. Pupils were also treated to a series of activities, games and challenges supported by our partners for the day, AllWeCan, Amnesty International and Beach Guardian, each themed around freedom.

Focussing on ‘Freedom from Poverty’, AllWeCan told pupils the story of a group of women who created a soap-making business to free themselves from poverty. Every child then had a chance to make their own soap to keep as a reminder of this story of hope and courage.

Fresh from the weekend’s FTS Beach Clean, Beach Guardians led a ‘Freedom from Pollution’ session, looking at the effect of pollution on the planet. Every pupil created a fish woven from recyclables collected from beach cleans.

Form Tutors led sessions sourced from Amnesty International that explored ‘Freedom from Unjust Imprisonment’, with puzzles to solve and debates held around real-life case studies.

As the school came together at the end of the day, it was clear how impactful days like this are on creating a community that looks outwards to the wider world and empowers our pupils to be brave, considerate and compassionate in helping our planet and our global neighbours.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Rev Helen for leading the day and for creating such a memorable and engaging learning opportunity for our school.