4:59pm Monday 14th July 2008
By Steve Mather
COPING with a bereavement is never easy but a scheme being run at an Evesham school is helping young people to help each other.
A group of sixth formers at Evesham High School have been taking part in peer mentoring sessions run by Noah's Ark Trust.
The charity based in Worcester specialises in providing support to children and young people who have experienced a bereavement and the peer mentoring scheme ensures that the sixth formers will be able to support other pupils should the unthinkable occur.
Ross Cormack of Noah's Ark Trust's bereavement and support team, said: "We have had six sessions at the school. The students have been fantastic and hopefully they have learned the skills required to help someone cope with a bereavement."
Jackie Turner is training co-ordinator for the charity. She explained some of the activities that bereaved children are asked to participate in on residential weekends run by the Noah's Ark Trust and encouraged the Evesham students to try them out for themselves.
She said: "We have an activity called candle time where we ask the children to decorate a candle with stickers. We then sit in a big circle and each child has a picture of the person they want to remember.
"They can say anything they want about the person or some choose to say nothing at all and we don't push them if that is the case."
Pupil Matt Taylor said: "We have learned a lot during the course and I have enjoyed it. I feel as though I know a lot more about how to help someone who has to cope with a bereavement."
Another pupil, Tash Rawlings added: "I found the sessions really useful and have enjoyed taking part in them. They give us some really important skills that we can use to comfort bereaved children who need our help."
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