Activism in Action – The Second Annual Public Health Conference at XP Gateshead

It was an honour to spend time with Year 9 students at XP Gateshead as they held their second annual public health conference with a focus on the dangers of smoking and vaping on Friday. The conference was the culminating event to the learning expedition entitled, ‘You Give Me Fever’ where students had engaged in a thematic study of health, considering how approaches to, and learning about health has changed over time from the Medieval Period to the modern day. Students were challenged to answer the guiding question,

“How can we continue to make progress in public health?” 

In order to do this students focused on factors which can affect our health, such as wealth, poverty, science and technology and the role of the government. Combining what they studied in history and science this helped us to complete a human geography study of our local area. Students had investigated the difference in life expectancy in the local area by studying deprivation and its contribution to risk factors. Case studies blended English, History, Geography and Science to give the students a breadth of knowledge and understanding about key health issues, in particular smoking and vaping.

Student key note speakers eloquently outlined the causes and long term effects of smoking on health and related social issues. They articulated the desperate link between smoking and deprivation and presented some chilling and compelling research about the impact of smoking on reducing life expectancy and increasing the chances of life threatening diseases like cancer, respiratory illnesses and strokes.

After this thought provoking start, students conducted a question and answer session with local experts from local government and community health services. Questions ranged from:

Should smoking be banned?

Does social media contribute to participation and smoking? 

Have public health changes made a difference to health in our community of Gateshead?

What is the local council doing to address deprivation in our community?

Exchanges were frank, honest and solution driven. XP Gateshead students showing, yet again, that they are actively leading positive social change in their community.

The next phase of the Presentation of Learning involved all students hosting a stall where they articulated the report they had written that linked to their learning in the expedition. Reports were wide ranging, informative and extremely well written. Titles included:

• The Impact of Smoking on Respiratory Health
• The Tobacco Industry Playbook
• Is Smoking a Choice? The Link Between Poverty and Smoking

  

  

  

  As students presented their reports, invited guests were asked to consider a range of proposals such as, ‘Are smoking reforms having a positive impact on our communities?’ and to vote using a QR code. We were then invited back into the conference hall and students reflected on the answers given by the community.

  

  Students ended the conference with a call for the community, local authority and health professionals to collaborate more effectively to reduce the negative impact that smoking still has on the health and well being of the wider community in Gateshead. 

  After the conference I caught up with Georgia and Scarlet who spoke to about the importance of the work they had undertaken. I asked them why it was important to hold a Health Conference.

Georgia commented:

“We showed the dangers and the impact of smoking and what it can do to yourself but also the people around you.”

And Scarlet built on this:

“Raising awareness and making sure people know the risks of smoking and if we are to continue to make progress as a society we need to address problems such as smoking.”

In conclusion, it was a privilege to be invited to an event that confirmed how our curriculum empowers and enables students to make a positive change in their communities. The level of understanding, confidence and quality of work was, quite simply, breathtaking. I made a pledge that the reports now need to be available for a wider audience to access and read. Our civic leaders and politicians must support and realise this important work and I know XPG students will not stop demanding this until they do!