To commemorate World Health day in April, the Emotional Support service ran its second annual Health Fair. The aim of the Health Fair was two-fold; to impart important information on physical and mental health to our pupils, as these two combined are essential to one’s emotional well-being, and secondly to encourage more of our pupils to consider a career in the medical and health-related fields.

The day was supported by representatives from the medical profession, including Dr Kelly Berube and her team from the Lung and Particle Research Group, medical students from the African Caribbean Medical Association (supported by Dr Jeff Allen), Dr Jennifer Acton and her team from the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences at Cardiff University, and Helen Gerrard and her team from the Cardiff University School of Medicine. In addition, we were supported by Jack Marshall and Shanice Bonat from the Nutrition and Dietetics team at the University Health Board, Kelly Roberts and colleague from Designed to Smile, and students from Cardiff Metropolitan’s Sports Injury team and Careers department (organised by Laura Williams from Sports Cardiff). Also in attendance were Bablin Malik and colleague from Sight Cymru, Pedal Emporium (supported by James Lundie from Taff Housing Association), Lisa Cordery from Switched On and Wasim Said from Tiger Bay boxing club. All representatives were asked to bring along interactive aids and activities that would encourage participation of our pupils, thereby cementing their learning. The feedback from pupils was excellent, with some suggesting that we run the fair every week, and all asking that it be run every year.

The day was a big success, with 33 classes (all of year 9, along with selected year 8 and 10s, equating to approximately 500 pupils) benefiting on the day. From the survey conducted with pupils before and after the health fair, results showed that there was a 61% increase in the number of pupils considering a career in the medical or health-related sector after the event!