New community showcase event for Cheltenham’s No Child Left Behind project

This year, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will be hosting the first ever NCLB Community Showcase - in place of the NCLB Awards - at Cheltenham’s iconic town hall.

The new conference-style event will run on Thursday 30 January 2025 in association with Punchline-Gloucester.com and the awards will return once again in 2026.

The event, hosted by the Mayor of Cheltenham, Cllr Paul Baker, aims to take guests on a journey to understand the issues that young people are facing growing up in Cheltenham today, what work is being carried out to combat this, and how they can become more involved in supporting their communities.

The showcase will host expert guest speakers in education, youth work and child exploitation, as well as powerful talks from young people on the challenges they face. There will also be exciting performances in music and drama from local schools and choirs throughout the evening.

“Cllr Victoria Atherstone, cabinet member for safety and communities, said: “I am really looking forward to attending our new NCLB Community Showcase event, as we seek to learn even more about the lived experiences of young people and their families in our town. We’ll also have an opportunity to learn about the fantastic work being carried out by our partners, listen to live talks from local experts and celebrate the amazing achievements of our young people including live performances.

“Organisations attending this NCLB Showcase will share their advice with young people and will have an opportunity to network with likeminded organisations. This event will also give guests a valuable opportunity to find out more about the work of each organisation, through talking to the young people and families that are experiencing it first-hand.”

NCLB partners will be promoting the work they do and running fun activities in the interval, alongside the young people and families they work with. This will give guests a valuable opportunity to find out more about the work each of the organisations is doing, through talking to the young people and families that are experiencing it first-hand.

Mark Owen, editor of Punchline-Gloucester.com, said: "I'm really proud to be able to be involved in this exciting new showcase event. At Punchline, we’ve made it our mission to help as much as we can to support these fantastic organisations who are making such a difference to our children and families.”

Keep up to date with all the latest NCLB Showcase announcements, follow No Child Left Behind on Facebook and X @NCLBchelt