My Life: Tim Oxley, 18, Cambridge
Tim Oxley
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Nearly five years ago, I was invited to a meeting at my secondary school, Turton High, to discuss a new project. It was presented to the student body as a way to improve relationships with teachers, strengthen the school community and give students a greater say in the running of the school.
The project was Unicef UK’s Rights Respecting Schools Award programme, which aims to foster change in schools by implementing a rights-based culture. I became involved in the steering group, whose priority was to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) at the heart of the school.
As a result, the school changed and became a great place to study. As part of my work with the programme, I was invited to London to speak at a teaching union conference on student governance, a great opportunity. From here, I was invited to speak at the House of Lords about the project as part of the UNCRC’s anniversary. It was great to be involved in such a project and promote it around the UK.
Unicef UK invited me to sit on the advisory board for its research, which was a study of the legal implementation of the UNCRC in 12 countries. The report was launched in November 2012 and I hope provides the solid evidence and impetus for the UK and other countries to take children’s rights seriously. Having left school for university, I still feel proud to have been once part of such a great, close-knit community. Working with Unicef UK has been a great experience and part of my life.
