Coffee mornings end on a high thanks to Westlands School

After a month of successful events designed to better integrate Torbay’s generations Westlands School faced the task of closing a well received and positive coffee morning scheme. Originating from the ‘You Said We Did’ consultation period in early 2010, Safer Communities Torbay has been focused on designing programmes and events that would help bridge the gap between Torbay’s generations.

Westland School opened its doors to members of the local community on Wednesday afternoon. Not only were residents able to see some of the students work and awards given to the school for their achievements but were also treated to a student pianist throughout. One resident from Hatfield Flats in particular enjoyed the music stating; ‘He played beautifully, it was a lovely addition to a super event.’

Many of the visiting residents were from a range of housing schemes, groups and organisations. As a result, the wealth of experiences and memories provided a compelling interaction for the students. Wendy from Upton Vale Baptist Church certainly felt that sharing knowledge had been beneficial; ‘It’s been really interesting to make a link between us all and share some of our experiences. I believe this has gone some way in building bridges between us all.’  

Westland School’s Chris Lander, soon to be Assistant Head Teacher- community cohesion representative for the school was positive about the project from start to finish despite the short time frame in which to organise and execute the event. ‘We were pushed for time with the end of the academic year fast approaching but against the odds we pulled together a positive and beneficial coffee morning. Seeing the students and local residents mix and talk was fantastic. I couldn’t be prouder of the students and their enthusiasm to converse and learn from the residents. I truly believe in this project and will continue to support it for as long as possible.’

One student in their final year at Westland’s certainly gained much from the experience even suggesting a future direction for the project; ‘I would love to do a young carers sort of scheme. I think there are too many lonely people out there.’

Some of the residents provided an insight in to the fears of the older generations; ‘I was concerned about attending this morning, in general I try to avoid youths these days, fear of the unknown I suppose. But now I am really pleased I came, the kids were fantastic and great fun to talk to, I felt they really listened and it was nice to be asked questions in return. I guess I was wrong to have my fears before, maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.’

Despite being the last of the scheduled coffee morning events, the scheme supplied many positive outcomes for both the young and old. With the connections made and relationships building, steps are being made in the right direction to help bring a better understanding and open mindedness to generations in Torbay.

Given the success and enthusiasm these events have generated, Safer Communities Torbay is continuing with their projects, rolling out similar schemes around the Bay for local residents.