A teenage girl has had the last laugh against bullies by helping to roll out ‘Fearless’ – a youth service to empower young people.
Chelsea Ryder, from Leek, endured taunts from fellow pupils during her years at middle school but instead of letting the incident upset her it encouraged her to help others.
With a fresh start in sixth form at a new school, Leek High, she became a volunteer for Fearless – a youth service set up by independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers.
It aims to educate 11 to 16-year-olds about youth issues, from violence to cyber-bullying and drug abuse, in a bid to help them make informed decisions if they’re ever faced with criminality.
The service’s website www.fearless.org includes information about different crimes that might be affecting young people. It also includes a secure online form, where information can be passed on about crime anonymously.
Chelsea, 17, helped roll out the scheme for fellow pupils at Leek High School.
She said: “Crime is reducing in Staffordshire and we can help more by empowering young people to stand up against cyber bullying and even drug and knife crime.
“My experiences at school really made me want to help others my age.
“A lot of students don’t want to discuss their issues because they’re afraid or confused.
“Fearless is a service they can go to if they want to report problems anonymously and that’s great.”
Chelsea began by making a presentation about Fearless to all the teachers at Leek High School.
She said: “It was very nerve-racking to stand up in front of a hall full of people who teach me and try and teach them something instead.”
To get students talking Chelsea then produced hundreds of posters emblazoned with the word ‘Fearless’, which were pinned up in classrooms and hallways.
She even managed to get the IT technicians to make the word ‘Fearless’ a part of the desktop background on all the school’s computers.
She said: “Sure enough, students began asking what Fearless was and I let them wonder what it was for about three weeks before doing a big reveal in a school assembly for year 9 and 10.
“I did a 20-minute presentation and I was so nervous that my voice shook but all my teachers were really supportive.
“I got a really good reaction from the students who said that Fearless was a great idea and it was definitely something that would help them through high school.
“Everyone was really supportive of what I was doing. A lot of my friends helped me put up posters and I knew that they would help me with anything.
“Some people in my year group were even inspired to become student mentors after my presentation.”
Chelsea is now studying for her A Levels and planning to go on to university to do a course in Childhood and Youth studies.
But she is still involved with Fearless and she is now planning to start up school activities to continue to raise awareness.
She said: “There are endless opportunities to promote Fearless and I know that when I eventually leave the school there will be others who will carry it on.”
She added: “It’s still in the early stages but I think we can really make a difference in Leek.
“I’ve already visited another high school and I think that they’re really excited to set it up too.
“What’s great is that I’m not doing this on my own. I have friends, teachers and other schools who want to get on board too.”
Staffordshire PCC Matthew Ellis provided Crimestoppers with the funds to roll out Fearless in Staffordshire Moorlands and for schools around Stoke-on-Trent.
Pauline Hadley, Regional Manager for Crimestoppers West Midlands, said: “We are so proud of Chelsea’s courage and work in helping other teenagers.
“Fearless helps to empower youngsters make the right choices when they are faced with difficult situations.”
John Spencer, head teacher of Leek High School, added: “Every young person has the right to feel safe and secure when they go to school and adopting a ‘fearless’ approach can only help.”
If you are interested in taking part in Fearless, please email fearless@crimestoppers-uk.org
