SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES: Centre for Social Justice director returns to Westfield Academy

FORMER Westfield Academy student, Christian Guy, who is now the director of the Centre for Social Justice, went back to the school in Yeovil to talk about his inspiring career path.

In the wake of the recent fascinating General Election, Westfield was really pleased to welcome back one of their Old Boys, who has an influential role at the heart of the political system.

The CSJ was set up ten years ago by former Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, to look at new ways to tackle UK poverty.

Mr Guy describes his organisation as “giving a voice to people who don’t usually have a voice in the political process”.

A group of 35 students took part in a lunchtime workshop, where Mr Guy spoke about some of the work he has been involved in, including raising the issue of slavery in the UK, which led to the introduction of the Modern Slavery Bill.

He spoke about the importance of politics in all our lives and how a decision made by politicians can impact on hundreds of thousands of people.

He advised students interested in politics that “it is never too early to get involved. Work for something you believe in – have a voice. And I’d make a plea to young people that politics is a good choice to make when considering your future career.”

PHOTO – TOP: Christian Guy speaks to students at Westfield Academy about his work with the Centre for Social Justice.

PHOTO – RIGHT: Christian Guy.

He also told students what characteristics he thought would be invaluable to them in the future: “to be able to write well, communicate brilliantly, build trust, think analytically.” He also told them “not to neglect the personal. You may have the perfect CV, but you also need to have integrity, to have the right character and attitude, so that you impress people when you meet them face-to-face.”

Students had lots of questions for Mr Guy and found the workshop really enlightening.

Student, Adi Stoica, said: “His work sounded really interesting. It’s great that he is working to raise awareness of poverty and that he is interested in the lives of ordinary people. I have a real passion for overcoming discrimination too. I’m originally from Romania and I’m thinking of going back there when I am older to be a politician.”

George Matthews, of Year Ten, said: “I am considering politics as a career and I wanted to find out more about the field of study – so that I knew what I had to do to get there. It was really interesting to learn about the different areas of politics. He was a very inspiring person to meet.”

“I was delighted to come back to Westfield again,” said Mr Guy, “I last visited for the launch of their alumni programme two years ago and the network is going from strength to strength. I'm really impressed how the school is making such valuable connections with their alumni, for the benefit of their existing students.

“I really enjoyed speaking with the young people too. It was excellent to meet some future politicians. The country will be in good hands if they're anything to go by!”

Westfield principal Chris Hut said: “Thank you to Christian for coming to visit us once again. The recent Youth Hustings, hosted by Westfield Academy had already inspired many of our students to take an interest in politics, so Christian's visit was particularly timely.

“There's a perception that many young people are disengaged from the political debate, but that certainly hasn't been the case at Westfield recently! The students were really interested and learned a great deal from the experience.”

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