Pupils under pressure '“ find out how Banbury is tackling the issue

Twenty schools around the town have been working together for more than a year to teach young people about the dangers of substance abuse, exploitation and how to stay safe on the internet.

And together with professionals from a range of support services, they will be in a unit at Castle Quay – near to Costa – to show work by primary and secondary pupils and offer advice to anybody in the community worried about the issues young people are dealing with.

The work has been taking place under the banner of Safeguarding Children in Banbury. One of the heads involved, Neil Blackwell, from St Leonard’s CE Primary School welcomed Banbury MP Victoria Prentis to his school to find out more about its work.

She is due to attend the event tomorrow, Friday, morning and Wykham Park Academy students will present a drama highlighting the pressures young people are facing at 1.30pm and 2.30pm, also tomorrow.

From noon to 4pm on Saturday, Tanayah Sam will be there. He is a former gang member who turned his life around and now works to be a positive role model.

Mr Blackwell said: “We want as many parents as possible to see for themselves the risks that our children are facing growing up and to find out about some of the fantastic work that our children have done to keep them safe.”