https://tender.org.uk/celebrating-the-tender-awards-2026/
Jody said of Abbey Grange:
This secondary school in Leeds, was one of the first in West Yorkshire to host a Tender Project back in 2018. It is a diverse inner-city school with students speaking over 70 different home languages.
The school is committed to inclusivity and celebrating diversity, ensuring the young people have the best possible access to expert, inclusive and fun relationships education, no matter their gender, faith or culture. The Chaplain of this school has an unswerving belief in the power of art for social change and healthy relationships for all.
Long term relationships are important to Tender and never more so than those they have with schools. This relationship has lasted 8 years! Each year a group of students are trained as healthy relationship ambassadors and they deliver a presentation to their peers at the school. This year’s healthy relationship ambassadors devised an excellent presentation. Many of them were nervous to present in front of 240 thirteen-year-olds (who wouldn't be!) but they were courageous and presented the important messages with confidence and clarity.
And so now many young people from this school have attended a Tender peer presentation about healthy relationships, spotting early warning signs, where to go for support and how to be a good friend. The ripple effect is extraordinary.
The evening was truly inspirational. It was hosted by Tender Patrons, Academy Award winning actress Olivia Colman and her husband, Producer and Screenwriter Ed Sinclair.
Olivia and Ed presented awards alongside Tender Ambassadors Jodie Whittaker (Dr. Who), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office), Priyanga Burford (Industry),and Jo Johnson (Producer of Adolescence) as well as Tender supporters actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts), Natalie Fleet MP, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips MP, poet David Larbi and Nina Goswami (Head of Inclusion at Clifford Chance). It will certainly be an evening to remember!
In a post on 1st July Olivia Coleman said:
Or how about Kay Brown, Chaplain of Abbey Grange and winner of our Ripple Effect Award, who has created a lasting legacy for her school and its students, past, present and future. Working in an inner-city school in Leeds where students speak more than 70 different languages, Kay is committed to inclusivity and celebrating the diversity of her school’s community.
Supporting young people across different faiths and cultures, she ensures as many as possible can access expert, inclusive and fun relationships education. Thanks to Kay’s unswerving belief in the power of art for social change, thousands of young people at Abbey Grange Academy have attended a Tender peer presentation about healthy relationships, and we’re so honoured to work with true advocates like her.
