CHETWYNDE School pupils will be championing work to challenge prejudice after being appointed as Anne Frank Trust Ambassadors.

Sophie Biddulph, Thomas Colquhoun, Ben Hanna, Mia Hunt, Alfie White and Imogen Jones were successful after submitting a project on equality.

The Year 9s will now attend meetings and work on projects in association with the UK-wide Anne Frank Trust, including the opportunity at some point to visit Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam.

Michelle Doolan, acting head of humanities at Chetwynde School, said: “They worked really hard on their project and we are really proud of them. It focused on gender equality and challenging stereotypes alongside supporting those who find it hard to make new friends through finding shared interests and starting new clubs in schools.”

Their appointment follows that of three Year 6 pupils at another South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust member school.

Tamara Hayton, Mason Quigley and Georgia Mathers, of Ormsgill School, were the first primary school-aged Anne Frank Trust Ambassadors in Cumbria when they were accepted last year after being assessed by a panel in London.

They spoke at Cumbria's launch event in front of an audience last December in Millom.

The Anne Frank Trust is a registered charity which hosts workshops in schools, offers mentoring and online events and has recently expanded its work into the county.

Pupils from both schools recently had a chance to meet Holocaust survivor Martin Stern MBE and hear his experiences of being in a concentration camp in the Netherlands.

Michelle said the Year 7s, 8s and 9s listened intently and asked compelling questions.

“This was a rare and moving event for all the pupils involved and this experience will stay with them for some time.

“Some described it as an honour to meet him and said it was amazing that he had the courage to talk about his experience others described it as ‘enlightening’ and a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’.