Lifestyle teams scoop top regional prizes

Published on 8th November 2007 in News

Local Lifestylers celebrated a treble victory on Tuesday night, with one team scooping a trip to France.

Three teams from our region won prizes for their efforts over the summer: the Spic 'n' Span chicks from Howden won an adventure holiday to France, which includes a day at Disneyland Paris and MGM Studios. Howden School picked up the Top School Award and won themselves £2,000 of computer equipment and Creature Features, from Reedness, won the GreenScene Award. They earned themselves a trophy and a mountain bike each.

The Groovy Goole Girls, Helen's Angels, Creature Features and The Good, The Bad and The Uglies all won adventure holidays to Wales, while the Crazy Four, Lifestyle Team *G*L*A*M*O*R*O*U*S*, Candy Girls and Cheap As Chips earned day trips to Alton Towers.

The Spic 'n' Span Chicks, who were Paige Coulthard, Leah Haywood and Abbie Newby, achieved the ambitious aim of stopping cars parking illegally on the town's market cross.

They decided to raise sufficient funds to provide planters, seats and cycle racks which, as well as preventing parking, had the added bonus of encouraging people to cycle into town.

The Chicks approached Howden Town Council, who helped the team with a grant application. Local businesses and shops agreed to sponsor planters and provided tombola prizes for an organised cake stall and tombola fundraising event. With funds in place, great care was taken choosing the equipment which looked traditional, and a local blacksmith was approached to produce the cycle racks.

Not satisfied with one project, the Chicks also cleaned up a local play park which had been vandalised and neglected. With the help of the community, litter was picked up, graffiti scrubbed, play equipment cleaned and damaged items replaced. New bark and sand was spread and burnt-out bins were replaced.

The amount of work undertaken was enormous, and deputy town mayor John Watson said: "Thank you. You, with other young people will make Howden what you want it to be."

The head of Howden Secondary School and Technology College, Andrew Williams, said: "I am overwhelmed to receive the award of 'Top Lifestyle School on behalf of the students of Howden Secondary School and Technology College.

"This award reflects our close links with our local police and police community support officers and the wider community. Our school has excelled with Lifestyle this year, attracting record numbers of students taking part in the project with some stunning results. I would like to thank everyone involved in the project for helping us make this year one to remember."

Creature Features, who are Katie Baxter and Emily Hutley, decided to improve the wildlife area at Reedness Primary School. The Creatures carried out meticulous planning and research to ensure the area would aid and enhance pupils' learning. Local businesses were generous in giving prizes for a summer fair stall and tombola, along with useful items for the wildlife area.

The hard work began as the pond area was cleared of weeds, which were more like mini trees. Gravel was placed over weed suppressant, and with children's safety very much in mind, borders were put in place.

Flowers were added, along with a bird bath, feeders, a mini greenhouse and much more to attract local wildlife. Creature Features even started up a new gardening club at the school, providing worksheets and fact files for the resources box. The before and after pictures were extremely impressive.

The chief constable of Humberside Police, Tim Hollis, said: "This year alone thousands of young people took part in Lifestyle, working thousands of hours to help others. I want to offer my personal congratulations to everyone involved."

The awards were presented at a ceremony at Hull City Hall on Tuesday evening.