DSU's Groups in Schools reach out to children across Leicester

Six of DSU’s student groups are reaching out to the local community with a new scheme.

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Six of De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU)’s student groups are reaching out to the local community with a new scheme.

Tae Kwon Do, the Politics Society, Acapella, Demon Theatre, DMU Steppers and the LGBT+ Society are all part of DSU’s new Groups in Schools initiative, which will see them go into local schools over the coming weeks to help children from across Leicester learn new skills.

Tae Kwon Do will be one of the first of the groups to go into schools, with the team planning to teach basic, practical self-defence to pupils at Beaumont Leys School.

Sophie Moss, Chair of Tae Kwon Do, said: “Sport has always been important to me, but at my high school there wasn’t much of a push towards it.

“That’s why I joined a martial arts club outside school and I want to educate the kids that there’s a variety of ways to exercise outside of what is taught in schools. I want to share that with the rest of the community.”

Tae Kwon Do will be hoping to teach some of the skills that they displayed at DSU's biggest Activities Fair EVER in 2016.

Sophie explained that the group want to ‘dive straight in’ with practical, basic techniques.

“I’m aiming for them to get more educated about how they can protect themselves,” she continued. “We always say that if they can back down from a situation they should but that’s not always possible.

“I’m hoping from even a couple hours of training the kids will be able to understand a bit more about staying safe.”

Elsewhere, the Politics Society (PolSoc) will be heading into a primary school in Leicester to talk through the basics of the British political system – and what it will mean for the children as they grow up.

Kayleigh Beere, Health and Safety Officer for PolSoc, explained: “We thought in a time of political turmoil that education like this is needed more than ever.

“Maybe by teaching young adults and children about the system they live in, they may be more inclined to keep up with the news and vote when they’re older as they can learn how the political system directly effects their day to day lives.

“Plus, me and Quinn [Franklin, Treasurer of PolSoc] both study Politics and International Relations so this is a perfect chance for us to get some relevant experience on our CV, and to actually use the knowledge we’ve gained from our degree in real life.”

However, it’s not just a learning opportunity for the school children – but DMU’s students too.

“We’ve never done anything like this before. It’s a bit nerve-wracking because we’ve never worked with, let alone try to teach, a class of children before.

“The Groups in Schools project is a brilliant way for us to reach out and help in the local community. We’re really looking forward to it!”

The Groups in Schools Project will reopen for new applications next academic year and is open to every student group on campus.

Mike Palmer, Student Projects Coordinator at DSU, said: “We know how great and amazing our societies, sports clubs and student volunteering groups are – and now we want the rest of Leicester to know that too.

“That’s why the 2016/17 Academic Year has seen us trial the Groups in Schools project for the very first time.”

To find out more about the Groups in Schools project, and see what all six groups are doing, click here.