Celebration for children of Armed Forces families
Britain’s Got Talent winner Richard Jones entertains at event for service children
Lance Corporal Richard Jones and children of Armed Forces personnel at the event at ARU
A celebration event for children of Armed Forces personnel was held at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) as part of work to improve inclusion in education for military families.
Britain’s Got Talent winner Lance Corporal Richard Jones attended the Festival of Friends event at ARU’s Cambridge campus to entertain around 150 children from across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, while certificates were also handed out to children who won a competition to design a logo for the Festival of Friends project.
Schools were invited to set up displays of the work they have done to improve inclusion for children of Armed Forces families, and many of the displays also included work by the children themselves.
Year 13 student from Wymondham College, Gabi Malvern, gave a speech about life as a service child, while ARU PhD student Siobhan Cambridge, also from a military family, spoke about her experiences in higher education.
All children were given a tour of the ARU campus from student ambassadors, who spoke about university life. Senior military officers Captain Rhys Davies and Wing Commander Andy Hobson also addressed the children at the end of the event.
“The children of Armed Forces personnel face unique and often unseen challenges in their education. They may have a parent away serving in a dangerous situation, or they may have to move to a different area of the country at short notice. It is vital that schools are prepared to offer the right support for each individual according to what they need.
“At ARU we are proud to be supportive of our Armed Forces community. As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, events like this help to give the children of service families the chance to find out more about the options available to them in higher education and see that there is a commitment among schools and other educational institution to giving them the best education possible.”
Dr Katie Groves, Assistant Director of Widening Access at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)ARU achieved the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold award in 2024, and offers work-based distance learning degrees for members of the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. ARU’s Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research also carries out world-leading research into the wellbeing of the families of Armed Forces personnel.