An Impactful Experience
On the 14th of March we had the honour of welcoming in Martin Cosser from the Charity Charlie’s Promise to our school. Martin gave an insightful and inspirational talk to all our year 9 and 10 students on the tragic murder of his son, Charlie Cosser, which took place in the summer of 2023. Martin has made it his mission since tragically losing his son to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime and speak to as many young people as possible in the aim of preventing another family going through what he and his family have had to.
Martin spoke openly about his experiences. He took time to signpost websites such as Fearless to students where they can make anonymous reports about knife crime concerns. He also spoke about the missed opportunities on the night of Charlie’s murder to prevent the incident and the long-lasting effect losing his son has had on him and his family. The students found this emotional and raw and applauded Martin for his bravery.
In their following Winston Extra lessons and during tutor time, students in year 9 and 10 were given the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and feelings. 9CAN commented the following after their following up session in form: “We discussed how brilliant he was at telling the story of Charlie's murder and how him banging on the table (to mimic police banging on his door) and counting the hours made it feel so much more real. The photos and videos he took were heartbreaking to watch but again, further established how real it all was.”
We are very grateful to Martin and his family for providing this opportunity for our students to get a much deeper understanding of the worries of knife crime and how they can contribute to helping tackle this problem.
Mrs Harnett
Head of Winston Extra
