Fowler and Gilbert supported the towns “Young Voices Carousel” on Friday as 12 students exercised their voices in an event planned to highlight the views of young people to a range of Market Drayton community leaders.
The ‘Young Voices Carousel’, invited students from Market Drayton’s Grove School to speak directly with adults who take leading roles in various aspects of the community. The youngsters were tasked with telling the adults about things that mattered most to them and they took full advantage of the opportunity.
John Hargreaves, Chair of Market Drayton Climate Action which organised the event, said, “One of our aims is to boost discussion of climate change in our community. We think an important part of that is encouraging active citizenship and enabling the voices of young people to be heard by adults who have influence in our town.”
Tony Sproston of Fowler and Gilbert was invited to be part of the Carousel, as well as the Mayor of Market Drayton and the Headteacher at Grove School. Adults in the rotating outer circle included representatives from business, sports, church, arts, civic society and museum, youth work, entertainment, and volunteering. When the carousel had finally completed its course, there was an open session for these adults to feed back to the whole group.
Mayor Tim Manton set the ball rolling, complementing the inner circle of youngsters for the confidence and clarity, passion and positivity with which they spoke.
A recurring theme was concern about the environment, the preponderance of litter, and lack of knowledge about effective recycling. There was a desire for more clubs in town, a need for accessible open spaces to be with friends, aspirations about a mountain-bike track and a bowling alley.
Alongside these, many of the young people said they liked living in Market Drayton and valued the sense of community in their town. There were some concerns expressed by the group around crime, drug abuse, and growing numbers struggling with mental health issues.
“It was a really enjoyable afternoon meeting with these young adults and hearing about the issues that they are concerned about. Market Drayton has a vibrant and engaged generation coming forward who have the interests of the community and their future well being at the forefront of their minds,” Tony Sproston shared with the team. “We hope some of these young people will be joining Fowler and Gilbert in the coming years and can help contribute towards the vibrant economy and business community this town is fortunate to support.”
Headteacher Mitch Allsopp concluded the event and overall feeling of the activity when he stressed that all young people can be active citizens and change-makers.
