United Kingdom

In the UK, SINCRONY will work with a partner school in the Little Horton area of Bradford. Bradford is a city in the north of England, with a population of just over half a million. It has a strong industrial heritage rooted in textile manufacturing but, like similar towns and cities, has experienced significant deindustrialisation in recent decades and is currently the thirteenth most deprived local authority in England. It has a young and diverse population – 28% of the population are aged under 20 and 57% identify as White British, 32% as Asian or British Asian and 2% as Black or Black British. Bradford is a culturally dynamic and vibrant place and was selected as the UK City of Culture for 2025.

The Little Horton area lies to the south of the city centre. It has a population of just over 20,000 and is the second most deprived ward in the Bradford district. The main industries employing people living in the area are: retail and wholesale trade (23%), human health and social work activities (14%) and manufacturing (10%). The population is young and diverse with the largest single group being those identifying as of Pakistani heritage (55%).

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About the school

The participating school is Co-op Academy Grange. It is a diverse, gender mixed, non-selective secondary school for those aged 11-16 and part of the Co-op Academies Trust. It has just over 1500 pupils. The school promotes the values of aspiration, respect and equality and is committed to developing opportunities for its pupils to participate in, and shape, the school and wider community.

For more information about this school,

visit www.grange.coopacademies.co.uk

The pilot

Teachers at Grange are embarking on a set of exciting initiatives related to citizenship education and participation aimed at equipping students with the skills and confidence to participate in shaping both their school and the wider community.

SINCRONY will work with teachers at Grange to realise the school’s aim to establish a school parliament. In the first stage this will involve a body of 40 students aged from 11 to 16, drawn equally from across the year groups. The students will engage in a range of activities that will help them identify the key concerns of students about both the school and wider community, develop skills to understand the root causes and effects of the problems identified and propose and debate possible solutions.