Bermondsey students give advice to the Home Office

Aldaine Wynter, Tola Agbola, Jack Cassidy, Charles Olisanekwu and Sam Bradley – all year 10 students from the City of London Academy in Lynton Road – visited the Home Office to speak about their experiences as junior streetleaders in Southwark.

The students spoke about their experiences in Southwark and how they work alongside the council to address community safety issues.

"This is the first time young people have been invited to the Home Office to talk about these issues," says Cllr Lisa Rajan, executive member for environment and transport.

"The feedback we've received is extremely positive – some officers described it as the best presentation they've ever heard.

"We're very proud of our junior streetleaders – they are a shining example of what can be achieved by letting young people get involved and have a say."

The junior streetleaders made the presentation to the Fear of Crime Practitioners' Forum which included senior representatives from 12 local authorities, three police authorities, two police areas, three charities and three government departments.

Sam Bradley said: "I wasn't intimidated at all by the presentation – it was actually really exciting. It is nice to know that our voices are being heard by a group of adults from across the country.

"It is also very satisfying to see how impressed the forum was with our work and to know that other parts of the country will follow Southwark by starting similar programmes to the one I'm involved in."

Anyone interested in volunteering to become an adult or junior streetleader or any schools wishing to participate can call Dave Taylor on 020 7525 2455.