From cupcakes to ping pong: Meet the Hackney sixth formers bringing cheer to the community

Generation game: Pupils take on care home residents at T3 ping pong. Photograph: Our Lady’s

A volunteering programme which teaches students at a Hackney school to be “community-minded” is celebrating a successful year.

Our Lady’s, a Catholic girls’ school in Stamford Hill, runs a community service scheme which sees every sixth former help out in the local community at least once a week.

Over the past twelve months, students have baked cupcakes for residents, taught flower arranging at homeless shelters, played three-a-side table tennis at care homes, and taken on schoolchildren at board games.

Mary Karayel, who recently left the school and is set to start an English degree at York University, said “volunteering to a lot of people can seem like an immense task, especially when we feel busy all of the time”, but it is “both rewarding and enlightening”.

Food for thought: pupils bake cupcakes. Photograph: Our Lady’s

Pupils teamed up with Caritas, an international confederation of charities and volunteer groups, as part of a pilot for its new ‘Ambassadors’ scheme.

Mary said: “When we first met our Caritas Development Worker, they really wanted to ensure that our work with them took our individual interests and hobbies into account.

“One area we were all particularly interested in was baking, so we baked cupcakes for the Hackney Winter Night Shelter.

“We had so much fun doing this not only because it allowed us to indulge a hobby but more importantly because we were able to provide treats for those attending the shelter later on that night.

“It meant a great deal to us particularly as homelessness is such a massive issue right now.”

For the third year running, the school joined forces with supermarket Morrisons, whose local branch provides free flowers and workshops for sixth formers.

The school now has twenty students trained in the art of flower arranging, and went into six shelters across Hackney and Haringey to help residents create floristry gifts.

Others introduced care home residents to T3 ping pong. T3 is three-a-side table tennis, played on a round table, and it has surged in popularity since being developed in 2012.

The T3 Foundation, the sport’s not-for-profit arm, was set up to help improve the health and wellbeing of elderly people through three-a-side ping pong – particularly those already living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The foundation says T3 can benefit even those in more advanced stages socially, physically and mentally.

It helped train up eight students at Our Lady’s to take the sport into local care homes and run 50-minute sessions for residents.

Mary Karayel (right) with headteacher Ms McDonald. Photograph: Our Lady’s

One of the aims of staff at Our Lady’s is to help nurture creative and compassionate relationships between younger and older people.

Mary said: “Community service has provided us with opportunities across generations, both children and the elderly.

“On one occasion, we visited the Friends of Woodberry Down, a group who provide a space for the elderly in Hackney to exercise, play games and socialise with each other, to tackle social isolation of elderly people.

She added: “Immediately we were engrossed in the chat, games, and laughter, so much so that I did not want to leave – especially as we were mid-way through a game!

“Spending just one hour with the group conveyed to me how important friendship and communication is, perhaps something I take for granted in the digital age we are living in.”

Game theory: an education charity taught students to run sessions for local kids. Photograph: Our Lady’s

Board games are a popular pursuit for Our Lady’s volunteers, with students also taking them into local primary schools.

The school has partnered with Universal Board Games, an education charity based in Hackney which uses games and play to find ways to create discussions and tackle social issues.

Students were taught how to facilitate sessions and teach children how to play – again as part of the community service programme’s focus on intergenerational activities.

Our Lady’s headteacher Ms McDonald said: “I am so proud of our students who live out our values as a school through their actions supporting our local community.

“The students show how communities can be transformed through compassion and service. At Our Lady’s we truly believe in developing community minded individuals as well as pursuing academic excellence.”