The Student Leadership Offer and Entitlement is a key part of BDAT’s 2030 vision, helping young people build confidence, develop leadership skills and reach their potential. All BDAT schools have completed a baseline audit of their leadership activities, giving a clear picture of current strengths and areas to develop.
Across the Trust, students have grown in confidence and communication through activities such as BCB Radio projects, the BDAT Be There showcase, Big Read competitions and Linking Network events. These opportunities have helped pupils build teamwork, resilience and public‑speaking skills, while also improving wellbeing. Through the West Yorkshire Citizens mental‑health campaign, students have even influenced real decisions about community spaces for young people.
Overall, BDAT’s student leadership and student voice work is helping pupils feel heard, valued and empowered, and we remain committed to strengthening this further so that every student has a voice.
Please keep reading for more information about some of our events.
BCB Radio
On Friday 27th March, a group of pupils from Westminster CofE Primary Academy visited BCB Radio to plan and present a radio show on the theme of wellbeing. Pupils spoke about the importance of wellbeing and how to support others. They shared the excellent strategies that are in place at Westminster CofE Primary, and even sang a few wellbeing songs! The pupils were excellent ambassadors for BDAT and their school. The show was broadcast on BCB Radio on Wednesday 1st April. Please click here for a recording of the show.
Linking Network
On Friday 27th February, groups of Year 7 students from all BDAT secondaries took part in the first of two Linking Network Connecting Together days, also at Bradford City Hall. The aim of the event was for students to develop their skills in connecting to other people, to find common interests and to consider what they care about. This was followed up by a second linking day on Friday 6th March.
Year 7 students commented:
The BDAT Maths Challenge took place on 29th January and 5th February 2026. The first day gave the students the opportunity to meet with students from other schools, whilst the second day provided mathematical challenges for the students to work on. Surveys carried out by the Linking Network indicated that student levels of confidence more than doubled between the first and the second days of the Maths Challenge, showing the impact of the event not just on the students’ mathematical skills but also on their personal development.
West Yorkshire Citizens
BDAT has taken a leading role in the West Yorkshire Citizens mental‑health campaign. Student focus groups across BDAT secondary schools identified mental health and wellbeing as major concerns, with BVGA pupils highlighting a strong need for better community spaces. Their survey showed that 83% of students want more free or low‑cost activities, 78% want more places for young people to go, and 69% feel a safe place to spend time after school would support their wellbeing.
BVGA students presented these findings at the West Yorkshire Citizens Delegates Assembly on 28th January, helping to push for improved community spaces across the region. The campaign continues this year, with further student involvement and attendance at the Accountability Assembly on 30th April.
BCB Radio
On Friday 23rd January, a group of students from BVGA and Immanuel visited the new BCB Radio studios at Bradford Arts Centre. The students planned and recorded a radio show on the theme of the National Year of Reading 2026. Students talked about why reading was important to them, the wellbeing benefits of reading for pleasure, their favourite books and they also performed some poetry too! This enabled the students to develop their confidence as communicators. The radio show was broadcast by BCB Radio on Saturday 31st January. There are additional visits to BCB planned for 27th March and 24th April. Please click HERE to hear the recording
BDAT Be There
On 21st January 2026 enabled student performers to demonstrate their confidence on the big stage at St George’s Hall. This showcase event featured dance, drama, and music performances from all BDAT secondary schools, presented under the themes of Community and Unity. The event took place at St George’s Hall in Bradford on Wednesday 21st January 2026, and Year 7 students from across the Trust attended the show. On student commented, ‘‘I think the event was important because it showed us how to respect everyone’s culture and it showed us how to come together as one BDAT community’.
Linking Network – Groups of Year 9 students from all BDAT secondaries took part in the Linking Network’s Taking Action programme at Bradford City Hall. The first session focused on 12th December helping students get to know one another and recognise that differences need not be a barrier to building positive relationships. They generated ideas on how small acts of kindness could be used to support one another both in school and in their own time.
During the follow‑up session on 9th January, students explored the concept of being an upstander rather than a bystander. Through a mixture of small‑group and whole‑group activities, they considered practical ways they could engage in social action and make a positive difference within their communities.
Students commented:
Root Out Racism Following on from the anti-racism theme identified as a campaign action by West Yorkshire Citizens, BDAT has played a leading role in developing the Root Out Racism project. The Root Out Racism event at Bradford City Hall brought together students from three BDAT secondaries, Beckfoot Oakbank, Beckfoot Thornton, Dixons McMillan Academy and Dixons Trinity Academy on 17 October, as part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week. The day focused on learning how to challenge racism safely and planning impactful anti-racism campaigns. Experts from The Linking Network, West Yorkshire Police, Bradford Council, and Bradford Hate Crime Alliance provided guidance.
Students commented:
The BDAT Big Read on 3rd October 2025 was suggested by student wellbeing ambassadors and led to an initiative across BDAT primary and secondary schools that encouraged a love of reading through shared texts and creative activities, bringing pupils together to celebrate literacy, wellbeing and imagination. Click on the links to see these Telegraph and Argus articles for more about the event: ‘Thousands of Bradford pupils take part in The Big Read’ and ‘Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust celebrates two contests’.
On Thursday 15th May, a group of student leaders from BVGA visited BCB Radio to record a radio show based around the theme of resilience, one of BDAT’s core values. The students covered topics such as showing resilience at school and at home and they also chose music linked to the theme. The feedback from the BCB Radio team was extremely positive, ‘The girls were brilliant! Each team member brought something to the show and expressed themselves well‘. The show was broadcast on BCB Radio on Sunday 18th May. To listen to the full radio clip, please click the link below
Bradford Citizens Aspirations March 2025
Linking Network Connecting Together event
On Thursday 27th February 2025, a group of Year 7 students attended a Linking Network Connecting Others event at Bradford City Hall. This gave them the opportunity to work with other students from BDAT and to develop teamwork skills, The students worked together on active citizenship and the importance of being an upstander not a bystander.
Connecting Together
On Thursday 13th February 2025 students from BVGA, Immanuel, BFA and BBEC met at Bradford City Hall to take part in a Linking Network Connecting Together event. The students took part in a number of team- and relationship-building activities which allowed them to connect with pupils from other schools and from other backgrounds. They also started to consider issues linked to citizenship, community and identity, as well as learning more about BDAT. They will meet again on Thursday 27th February to further build links and connections between schools.
Bradford Citizens Together
On Thursday 6th February 2025, student Wellbeing Ambassadors from BVGA visited Dixons to take part in the Bradford Citizens Together conference. They were joined online by students from BFA and Immanuel, and in person from students from the Dixons and Beckfoot trusts. Our Wellbeing Ambassadors delivered a workshop on the work they have done over the past couple of years across BDAT to support mental health. They also took part in a Delegates Assembly which resulted in two BVGA students and two Immanuel students were elected as part of the Bradford Citizens leadership team for an anti-racism campaign. As part of the election, our students spoke with passion and clarity about their desire to make a difference in the local community.
BDAT Be There
On Tuesday 14th January 2025, performers from across BDAT secondary schools came together for BDAT Be There. This event featured drama, music, spoke word and dance and was themed around BD2025 City of Culture. BVGA students performed powerful pieces of spoken word on culture and identity as well as pieces of expressive dance.
The students performed to approximately one thousand Year 7 students from BDAT in the matinee performance, and then again to parents/ carers, staff and other members of the BDAT community in the evening. One Year 7 student who attended commented, ‘My review of the BDAT Be There performance is that it was 100,000,000 out of 10! I loved the dancing, singing, acting and the spoken word. The whole show was fantastic! I wish to say how included I felt and other people felt that way too‘. The event also received positive feedback from the BD2025 City of Culture team members in attendance, who commented, ‘It was a beautiful celebration of identity, diversity, and resilience, with Bradford in the foreground. Such vibrant creativity made us remember why our community is special‘.
Taking Action
On Thursday 10th October 2024, a group of Year 9 students from BVGA met with student representatives from all the other BDAT secondary schools to take part in the Linking Network’s Taking Action event at Bradford City Hall. This was a great opportunity to make links and connections with students from other contexts. The students worked on a number of themes such as exploring identity, sharing who we are and what we care about, understanding the importance of values such as kindness and compassion and exploring what it means to be an ally and to stand up for other young people. Students will meet again at Bradford City Hall on Friday 8th November for a second Taking Action session.
On Thursday 5th December and Thursday 23rd January, BDAT Student Wellbeing Ambassadors from Immanuel, Belle Vue, Oxenhope primary and BFA visited BCB Radio to plan and record a radio show on two of the BDAT ICARE values: Inclusion and Compassion. Students spoke about the importance of compassion and the impact that acts of kindness can have on others, the recent assemblies they had delivered on anti-bullying and disability, and how to support and include others. To hear the full radio clip, please click the link below
BDAT BCB Radio Compassion Feb 2025
On Thursday 5th December a group of new Belle Vue Girls’ Academy, Bradford Forster Academy and Oxenhope Primary Student Wellbeing Ambassadors and Safety Squad visited BCB Radio to plan and record a show on the core value of Inclusion. The students from Belle Vue Girls’ spoke about recent assemblies they had delivered on anti-bullying and disability, and how to support and include others. To listen to the full radio clip, please click the link below
Bradford Citizens Show Inclusion Dec Jan 2025
We work closely with Bradford Citizens, part of Citizens UK, to contribute to campaigns that amplify young people’s voices. These campaigns are centred around issues that are most important to young people and their families, connecting them to people in power to make real change in our communities. The current themes for these campaigns are mental health, the cost of living and anti-racism. BDAT students have planned and presented radio programmes for Bradford Community Radio as part of these campaigns. Take a listen to a recent clip, hearing students from across the Trust talking about the importance of sustainability.
Carol Dewhurst, CEO of BDAT states:
BDAT’s core vision centres around enabling confidence and competence in each of our pupils to allow them to thrive, laying the foundations to develop strong and thoughtful voices. We advocate for amplifying the ideas of young people who wish to see positive change in their communities. Our role is vital in ensuring they are equipped to use their voices safely and wisely, producing the greatest impacts possible.
Esha Din Arbab, a Year 11 student at Belle Vue Girls’ Academy states:
Hearing my peers speak out about their own stories and what others are facing was incredibly inspiring. It truly made me feel the weight of our power as young people and led me to realise that awareness is one of the most significant parts of the battle. We cannot focus on driving change without first shedding light on what needs to be addressed in our schools and communities.
Our BDAT Student Wellbeing Ambassador project gives students across primary and secondary contexts the opportunity to support the mental health and wellbeing of others, as well as to develop their own leadership skills. BDAT Student Wellbeing Ambassadors have presented at Bradford Citizens’ Delegates Assembly and the Bradford Youth Voice Summit on Emotional Health and Wellbeing.
At BDAT, we are committed to supporting our pupils to develop a strong understanding of the issues they are concerned about and encouraging them to drive forward meaningful change, as featured in the Schools Week article How Bradford Schools Are Empowering Youth-Led Change.
The most powerful advocates for the impact of Trust wide student leadership and student voice are the young people in BDAT academies themselves, as can be seen in this collection of short films which chronicles the work they have done.