Meet the kind-hearted children determined to make a difference in Salford this Christmas

Pupils at Star Salford Academy in Little Hulton donned their aprons and rolled up their sleeves spending hours in the canteen on Friday morning (December 19) to prepare 200 meals, making bolognese to be served with pasta and a vegetarian curry.

The food was frozen and taken to Little Hulton Foodbank where it will be shared out to those in need of a helping hand over the festive season. Scarlett Loughrey, 14, was one of the Star Salford Academy pupils who took part. She said: “Little Hulton is a good area, the people in the community are really nice.

“We’re doing this to try and help people who are less fortunate than us, and it’s good to help the reputation of our school.”

Another pupil getting involved was 13-year-old Ayisha Maria who shared her own previous experience of hardship.

She said: “I know what it feels like to be in a position with no food to eat, so it’s a really good thing we’re doing for people who are less fortunate. I’ve been in that position before when I moved here and I didn’t have much, so it makes sense for me to be doing this [helping others] now.”

Coun Teresa Pepper is chair of governors at Star Salford Academy and said: “They’re having a whale of a time [doing the cooking], I haven’t been feeling very Christmassy but that has really brought out the Christmas spirit seeing them all.

“I worry that sometimes people demonise youth today, and some of the things young people do are the things that I did when I was a kid a long time ago, I really want to show the fantastic young people that we have.

“They’ve given up their morning so close to Christmas to come and cook about 200 meals by the end of it.

“They’re the young people who are growing up here in Little Hulton now, and they will make the difference going forward, they will change the landscape in this area.

“The object of this to me is to make people feel proud of being Little Hultoners, and see the fantastic things that are happening here, and that we can make a difference. They will become community members who are activists and will change things.”

Little Hulton is close to the M61, and is known to be an area where some people suffer from deprivation.

Luie Demetri, 13, said pupils at the school know their efforts will be a huge help for people in the community.

He said: “It will make quite a big difference for people who need food for Christmas, this will help them massively.”

Laura McBride, 35, is the Principal at Star Salford Academy and said: “We recognise that Christmas can be a challenging period for lots of our families when it comes to finance, particularly at the moment.

“We have got very high levels of deprivation in the community and with the children we talk about our STAR values – service, teamwork, ambition and respect.

“Our children really want to make a difference to where they’re from, I’m very fortunate I went to school locally myself, so I talk to the children a lot about how lucky I am being their Principal, but that it is really important to me as my purpose in the community.”

Other activities at the school to support their community included a reindeer run to raise funds for St Ann’s Hospice, and putting on afternoon tea for grandparents and the elderly.