A four-strong team from Ballakermeen High School highlighting the work of the small charity Disability Africa were the victors in the Grand Final of this year’s One World Charity Challenge programme which took place in March at Babbage’s, Mountain View Innovation Centre.

They were among the eight finalists in this year’s competition which involved 33 teams of Year 12 students in total across all six of the Island’s secondary schools battling to win money for small international development charities during the course of the school year.

Performing before a capacity audience that included the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer, Chief Minister Alf Cannan, other members of Tynwald, charity representatives, friends and family, all eight finalists gave hugely entertaining performances that included everything from interpretative dance and song to paparazzi-style videos and game show questions.

The winning team focused on Disability Africa’s playschemes which aim to remove the stigma of disability that still exists in some of the world’s poorest communities and help to provide access to education and healthcare for disabled children. The team gave a lively presentation that included lots of audience participation as they demonstrated how the power of play could transform lives and end isolation. They won the top prize of £1,500 for Disability Africa.

In second place were the team from Castle Rushen High School who were supporting the locally-based charity Leprosy Mission (Isle of Man). Opening with a dramatic dance, the team also used role-play to illustrate the impact of leprosy on individuals and their families and highlighted the misinformation that can sometimes prevent sufferers from seeking help. They won £1,250 for Leprosy Mission (Isle of Man) but also picked up one of the special AFD Advocacy prizes for their work on raising awareness which added another £500 to their total.

Third in the main competition were the team from Queen Elizabeth II High School who chose to represent International Health Partners. This is a charity that works to deliver vital medicines to disadvantaged communities around the world providing access to healthcare for those who need it most.  The team spoke movingly about their reasons for choosing the charity and illustrated the positive impact of its work in saving lives. They won £1,000 for the charity.

Meanwhile, a second team from Ballakermeen High School were awarded the top AFD Award for Advocacy worth £1,000 as well as a £500 prize in the main competition for their work representing another locally-based charity Coral & Pearl Hostels Trust. With a very engaging stage presence, the team impressed the judges with their wide array of advocacy work including redesigning the charity’s logo, running fundraising events and promoting the charity’s work on social media.

Runners up on the night included teams from St Ninian’s High School representing Edukid and Education Saves Lives and Ramsey Grammar School representing Tree Aid and Hands of Hope. They each won £500 for their charities with the team supporting Education Saves Lives also picking up an additional £500 AFD Advocacy award.

Judges for the event were Dr Christa McCartney from the One World Centre, Lady Lorimer, Bradley Chambers (the current Manx Bard) and Kristina Reeves, a former teacher who helped pilot the One World Charity Challenge programme in 2006-2007.

Speaking after the event, One World Centre Coordinator Wendy Shimmin said the night had been a great culmination to many months of hard work by the students. “One World Charity Challenge starts each September with an introduction to the work of international development charities to Year 12 students at a time when they are starting to think about their place in the wider world.  It is a chance for them to learn about some of the huge inequalities across societies and about how some people feel compelled to try and make a positive difference to the lives of others.

“The competition format of the Challenge also provides them with lots of opportunities to practise essential skills such as teamwork, organisation, research, time management and presentation that will be useful to them as they go on to university or into the workforce. Whether teams progressed to the Grand Final or not, they will all have gained some valuable experience and knowledge which will stand them in good stead for the future.

“We are grateful to the Isle of Man Government’s International Development Education and Awareness Raising grant for funding the educational side of the programme and to the H&S Davidson Trust, Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust and AFD Software Limited for providing the prize funds. We also thank AFD Software for hosting the Grand Final at Babbage’s and providing excellent technical help to the students.”

All the in-school heats have now been completed and the remaining finalists going through to the 2026 Grand Final are those representing:

Ballakermeen High School – Coral & Pearls Hostel and Disability Africa

QE2 High School – International Health Partners

Ramsey Grammar School – Treeaid and Hands of Hope

Commiserations to those teams who didn’t go through and thank you all for your hard work throughout the programme. Good luck to those going to the Grand Final – enjoy making the final tweaks to your presentation and see you at the rehearsals next week!

Three schools have now completed their in-school heats in this year’s One World Charity Challenge which means the teams representing the following charities are going through to the Grand Finals.

King William’s College – Action Village India

Castle Rushen High School – Leprosy Mission (Isle of Man)

St Ninian’s High School – Education Saves Lives and Edukid (two go through from St Ninians due to the high number of teams taking part there)

Well done to both the successful teams and to all those who didn’t get through but took the Challenge and presented on behalf of their chosen charities. A lot of learning has clearly gone on and a lot of skills practised!

The remaining finalists will be selected next week when schools return from half-term.

Most students have now had (or will very soon have!) the final seminar on presentation tips so it’s now time to pull all your research, advocacy and creativity together to produce an engaging and impactful presentation. Don’t forget there are more hints and tips on The Challenge section of this website – and also don’t forget to make a mental note of any interesting assemblies or lectures you receive and think about how the presenters got their information across in a way that made you take notice! Make sure you keep your charity updated and check in with them that you have the latest stats and information to hand. Good luck everyone.

We’re delighted to introduce One World Charity Challenge to a new set of Year 12 students. Look out for our launch presentation coming to your school very soon. In the meantime, maybe have a little think about what problems you would like to solve in the world – and how we might help make life fairer for everyone no matter where they live.

Well done to Ballakermeen High School for winning this year’s exciting competition with their chosen charity Gumboots Foundation! Also to Castle Rushen for winning the AFD Advocacy prize for their work in raising awareness of Seed Madagascar. All the teams performed well and here is the press report in full:

Lack of education, poor access to health care and gender inequality were just some of the issues explored by local Year 12 students at the finals of this year’s One World Charity Challenge programme, held last week at Babbage’s, Mountain View Innovation Centre.

The competition, which is the finale of months of work by the students, saw some outstanding presentations performed in front of an invited audience which included Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer and Lady Lorimer, the Minister for Education, other members of Tynwald, invited guests, teachers and families.

Overall winners were the team from Ballakermeen High School representing Gumboots Foundation UK, a charity set up to address poverty and AIDS-related issues in townships and rural areas of South Africa by improving education, nutrition, empowerment and well-being. Their lively and engaging presentation saw them collect the top prize of £1,500 for their charity as well as the Frances Davidson cup. This is the fourth year that teams from Ballakermeen High School have taken the top spot!

Second place were the team from St Ninian’s High School representing Street Child, a charity that works across the world to ensure children are safe, in school and learning. It was clear this team had really engaged with the charity and, among other things, had taken part in a youth summit looking issues Street Child deals with. They won £1,250 for their charity.

Third place went to the team from King William’s College representing Livingstone Trust Tanzania, another charity which helps overcome barriers to education. They picked up £1,000 for this charity which is shortly changing its name to Mikuyu Tanzania.

The remaining two finalists were teams from QEII High School representing Action Village India and Castle Rushen High School representing Seed Madagascar. They both won £750 for their charities with the team from Castle Rushen also picking up the £1,000 AFD Award for Advocacy for their fantastic work in raising awareness of Seed Madagascar in the local community.

Judges for the evening included Lady Lorimer, Ramsey Grammar School headteacher Sonia Taylor, Phil Craine from the One World Centre and Jasmine Cowin, a former Charity Challenge contestant now working for Isle of Man Government. The prizes were kindly presented by the Lieutenant Governor.

Speaking after the event, One World Centre Coordinator Wendy Shimmin said, “As always, the students provided us with a very entertaining evening and much to think about as they explained the work and impact of their chosen charities.

“This year saw a record number of 35 teams taking part in the Challenge so it was already a real achievement for these five teams to get through to the final stage.

“One World Charity Challenge is one of our flagship projects. This programme not only introduces young people to the world of international development and humanitarian aid at a time when they are thinking about their own future choices in life, but offers lots of opportunity to practise key skills such as research, teamwork, organisation, presentation and time-management that will stand them in good stead as they move on to university or into the workforce.

“We are indebted to our judges who had lots to consider on the night, to the charities and link teachers who supported the students, and to the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust and Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust, as well as AFD Software and other donors, for providing the prize money which goes directly to the charities involved.

“We also thank AFD Software for hosting the evening at Babbage’s and for the marvellous technical support they provide to the teams.”

So, after three more exciting in-school heats, we now have all five finalists for this year’s competition. The teams representing Action Village India (QE2 High School), Gumboots (Ballakermeen High School) and Livingstone Tanzania Trust (King William’s College) will join the teams representing Seed Madagascar (Castle Rushen High School) and Street Child (St Ninian’s High School) for the Grand Finals on 26th March.

Congratulations to all the finalists and commisserations to the other teams – the competitions were extremely close in some cases, and there were some great and enthusiastic presentations which were thoroughly enjoyed by the judges.

For the teams going through to the finals, more work awaits to hone those presentations! For the other teams, please wrap up any outstanding work with your chosen charities and reflect on what you have learned and the skills you have practised which will stand you in good stead for the future. You might also like to reflect on how ordinary people can be motivated to make a difference to the lives of others – we can all be part of positive change in this world.

Also remember that the charities of all the teams who didn’t go through will each receive a £100 donation from the Charity Challenge programme. In this very uncertain time for international development funding, we’re sure those donations will be put to good use. Thanks to all for taking part and to the charities who have supported our students this year.

So, following the in-school heats at Castle Rushen High School and St Ninian’s High School, we now know that teams representing Seed Madagscar and Street Child will be going through to the grand finals. Well done to both teams – it was a close call at both schools so the competition was strong!

We should know the other teams going through by the end of this week. Good luck everyone!

A very happy and productive New Year to all our students and charities. Just a reminder that the final seminar will be taking place over the next two weeks – this will cover putting your mulitmedia presentation together – so please ensure you are around for that.

Each school will be scheduling their in-school heat which will give you a firm deadline to work with but don’t leave it to the last minute! Make sure you give yourselves plenty of time to practise – the more familiar you are with the presentation, the easier it will be! See you soon.

We know that many of you have been busy advocating for your charities in the run up to Christmas – we hope you have had fun and also managed to raise awareness of the issues your charity is trying to alleviate and the great work that they are doing to help people affected.

As a little Christmas bonus, we are happy to confirm that, thanks to a generous donation from the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust and a few smaller individual contributions, we now have our prize fund secured. This means you are competing not only for the honour of winning the Charity Challenge title and trophy but also to win cash prizes for your charities. More details on this at the seminar in the New Year!

We are grateful to the trustees of the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust for recognising the value of the Charity Challenge programme and supporting our student teams in this way.

In the meantime, we hope all our students and charity partners have a lovely Christmas break and look forward to catching up with everyone again in January.