Students celebrate completion of AQA Unlocking Potential at London Zoo

We were delighted to head to London Zoo once again to celebrate with students and teachers to mark the completion of the latest AQA Unlocking Potential programme.

Over 100 students from across the country gathered with their athlete mentors from the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, as well as AQA staff and volunteers, to be presented with their awards.

First, schools along with their athlete mentors and other guests were able to explore all that London Zoo has to offer, a fantastic opportunity for many of the students who have never been to London or indeed to visit a zoo and see the range of animals from across the globe. Groups also were tasked with trying to identify an animal from each continent of the world with varying exciting answers provided and also bought an element of competition to their trip around the zoo.

Then it was on to the more serious business of the day as everyone watched a short film of this year’s programme featuring a fantastic social action project by Roundhay School based on dealing with the effects of bullying, something close to the group’s own heart in their approach to support others having lived experienced this issue themselves during earlier years in school.

Students from Cambourne Village College along with their athlete mentor, Liz Cann, also shared their experience of planning and delivering the social action project. A relevant and upsetting topic, the group have several experiences of supporting families affected by war and conflict notably in the Ukraine with one member of the group being originally from the Ukraine. Their project idea including awareness presentations to the rest of their school peers, delivery of various bake sales including appeals for donations by teachers, students and the school catering team raised vital funds which would go towards supporting charities working with those affected by the war in Ukraine and other war-torn countries.

Students were then presented with their certificates and Amazon vouchers by Annie Moody, interim Chief Executive of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust; and Derek Richardson, Managing Director of AQA Assessment Services and member of AQA’s Executive Board.

Derek Richardson, Managing Director of AQA Assessment Services Ltd, said:

“The Unlocking Potential programme is really important in bringing out the best in young people so that they can achieve their goals. It’s been great to hear about how the athlete mentors have helped more than 100 young people to develop their confidence, resilience and self-esteem and help give them a good start in life. My congratulations to the young people and my thanks to the teachers and athlete mentors who supported them.”

Annie Moody, interim Chief Executive of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, said:

“Days like these are so special; bringing young people, from all over the country, together to celebrate their achievements. The energy in the room was infectious and their newfound confidence was evident and inspiring.

“The social action projects shared highlighted the incredibly difficult topics young people are facing and their ability to convey them and spread awareness was awe inspiring.

“As always, we are incredibly grateful for the consistent support from AQA; the outcomes are clear and the impact we have been able to make through this partnership, have been immense. Looking forward to another year of Unlocking Potential programmes and seeing the young people thrive.”

Nominations for AQA Unlocking Potential 2025/26 will open this autumn; you can find out more about the programme here.