Stockton Riverside College in Stockton-on-Tees is kicking off the new school year with a welcome boost after receiving a £1,000 grant from Tesco through its Stronger Starts scheme.
The funding was awarded in recognition of former student Vicky, who earlier this year won the regional Tesco Education Award at The King’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards.
Gillian Hutchinson, Stockton Riverside College’s Head of Department of King’s Trust, said:
“We are incredibly proud of Vicky and all she has achieved since joining us on our King’s Trust Achieve programme. This Stronger Starts grant from Tesco will now further support us in our work to provide meaningful experiences to Achieve students, like Vicky, who are looking to build the confidence and personal skills they need to succeed in life. We are grateful to Tesco and The King’s Trust for recognising the important work that we do here at the college supporting young people, and its potential to ultimately help change lives.”
Stockton Riverside College, as part of the Education Training Collective, is a Delivery Partner of The King’s Trust, and delivers the youth charity’s in-school programme, ‘Achieve’. Achieve is a flexible personal development programme designed to support students, like award-winner Vicky, to succeed in education. Young people work together on practical learning projects, designed to boost confidence as well as improving self-esteem, attainment, behaviour and attendance.
Since 2018, The King’s Trust have been working with Tesco to empower communities across the UK. Tesco primarily support The Trust’s education work, funding the Achieve programme, and contributing to the Education Hub which provides vital resources on topics like mental health and wellbeing, and enrichment opportunities such as world-of-work store tours. More recently, the partnership has expanded to include in-work support for young people during their first three months of employment, helping them transition successfully from education into the world of work.
Alison Cheung, UK & ROI People Director at Tesco, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to support young people with Stronger Starts grants from Tesco which will make a real difference and provide them access to new programmes and facilities. We were proud to again partner with The King’s Trust Education Award this year, and massive congratulations to Vicky and all the winners who are all working towards a brighter future.”
Stronger Starts, which Tesco runs in partnership with Groundwork UK, provides grants to help schools and community groups working with children provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities. Grants have also been awarded to three schools across Scotland, Wales and England.
Since it launched in 2023, the programme has provided over £14 million grants to over 14,000 schools and community groups, supporting more than 3.5 million children.
Youth charity The King’s Trust gives young people the skills and confidence to get their lives on track. Three in four young people helped by The King’s Trust in the past five years have moved into work, training or education.
