Two Year 11 students have been praised for their involvement in a community project which took place during the summer holiday.

Liam C and Kenneth S, who were both in Year 10 when they volunteered for the project, were inspired by a visit to their lesson from Elizabeth Graham of Durham Constabulary. Ms Graham came to King James to talk about the opportunity to work with organisations such as "One Punch' and "If You Care, Share', and to encourage young people to get involved in their local community in order to help raise awareness of issues which are particularly relevant to teenagers.

Liam and Kenneth immediately expressed their interest in joining the initiative, and went on to sacrifice a week of their school holiday to work with DC representatives and young people from other schools in a project which culminated in a drama performance.

RE Teacher, Mrs Cross, who organised the original visit from Durham Constabulary, was invited to attend the performance. She said, "It was obvious that the boys had worked extremely hard throughout the week as they were outstanding in the performance. They overcame nerves to perform in front of an audience of friends and family, alongside a number of professional people from various organisations. Both were excellent representatives for our school and Ms Graham would like to continue working with them; she has also expressed an interest in recruiting them to the Police Cadets."

The boys were congratulated on their achievement by Mr Grieveson and presented with a King James I Academy 'Community Involvement Award' during their year group assembly.