An East End headteacher has made an historic pledge alongside Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in a bid to boost youth involvement in the community.
Mark Keary, principal of Bethnal Green Academy, joined the Prince of Wales at a special event to launch the Step Up to Serve campaign.
The scheme aims to double the amount of young people active in the community to 50 percent by 2010, by opening up a range of new volunteering opportunities.
In addition to the Prince of Wales, Mr Keary joined Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and opposition leader Ed Miliband, plus 50 young people, to start a pledge campaign called #iwill.
Pupils at the Gosset Street school are involved in active citizenship in a number of ways, such as allocating off-timetable days to volunteering
Mr Keary said: “Bethnal Green Academy students at all ages are actively involved in fundraising, intergenerational projects and volunteering and have been for some time.
“We were honoured to have our work in this area recognised at the highest levels and to be chosen to represent the best of youth social action in the UK.”
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