Leeds Rhinos stars Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Ashton Golding returned to their old school to show support for the Inspire Co-operative Learning Trust, which is made up of four partners – Priesthorpe School, Southroyd Primary School, Leeds Rhinos Foundation and St Anne’s Community Services.
The Trust was formed back in 2012 after the four organisations came together with a view to achieving common goals and working together to support their various communities.
As a former pupil of Priesthorpe, and now a Governor at the school, along with being a trustee with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Jamie Jones-Buchanan is best placed to see how the partnership can benefit the partners and the local community.
Jones-Buchanan said: “Priesthorpe School and the Leeds Rhinos both provided me with an environment and an opportunity to realise my potential and be all that I could be as a young man.
“Now that the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Priesthorpe school will form a major part of the ‘Inspire Co-Operative Trust’ it is an honour and a privilege for me to serve the Trust, with the aim of inspiring others – of all ages and abilities – to be all they can be too.
“I know that resilience, perseverance and continual self-development for the good of others, is at the core of what the "inspire cooperative trust" stands for.
“Those are the very same values that, I believe, has empowered the Leeds Rhinos through what is termed as "The Golden Decade" during my time as a player. It is my aim to share those values in whatever setting or narrative that presents itself and – God willing – help change lives through the fabulous world of sport and education.”
Jane Pickering, Inspire Trust and Governance Officer added: “We recently changed our name from Priesthorpe Co-operative Learning Trust to Inspire because the reach of the Trust extends beyond Priesthorpe's own students and families into a much wider community. All four partners felt that the new name would better reflect our aims and values.
“The Trust seeks to 'inspire' just as a teachers inspires a pupil, a sportsman inspires his audience or a carer inspires people to work through challenges in their lives.”
Looking ahead to the future the Inspire Co-Operative Learning Trust is keen to continue to grow and see more people in their community involved. As well as activities taking place between the four partners, they will be offering membership schemes which will allow other organisations or individuals to participate as much or as little as they wish.
Alongside their support and commitment to the Trust they will build partnerships with local businesses and other organisations so that they can offer additional membership benefits in the near future.
Joining the players on the day to celebrate the partnership were: Martin Blacoe, Head teacher at Priesthorpe School, Ian Featherstone, Chair of Governors at Priesthorpe School, Sue Clifford, Chair of Governors at Southroyd Primary School, Davide Longo, General Manager of Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Julie Robinson, Director at St Anne's Community Services and Kate Prior, Southroyd Primary School.
If you are interested in getting involved email inspire-coop@priesthorpe.org or call Jane Pickering on 0113 257 4115.