Help for students who struggle to attend school

Louis stands in a classroom with the lights off and some purple fairy lights on around the ceiling. He is wearing a black hoodie and long white shorts and long dark socks. He's in the corner of the classroom giving a speech in front of staff and students. He's story next to a projector screen which has images of him as a school child on and reads Louis Story. — Image caption,
Staff and students heard from celebrity hairdresser Louis Byrne at the launch of his I Am, I Can, and I Will programme

Chris Craddock

BBC Jersey communities reporter

9 October 2024

A project has been launched in Jersey to help students who struggle to attend mainstream education because of issues like anxiety.

The I Can, I Am, and I Will programme has started at La Passerelle, and aims to support students who find it difficult to engage at their schools.

The project was started by the celebrity hairdresser Louis Byrne who is an ambassador at the school.

It uses techniques, therapies and creative work to help youngsters improve their self-confidence and feel comfortable with who they are.

Louis smiles at the camera in a classroom. Behind him is a mannequin head on a raised platform with a red wig on it to his left and behind him to his right there's another mannequin head with a white and pink wig on. Louis has a shaved head with a stubbly beard and blue eyes.

Louis Byrne hopes the programme will change young lives in Jersey

Mr Byrne said the three-month project at the school is all about "self-acceptance and building-self" and "it was built out of my personal experience".

He said he struggled with coming to terms with his sexuality when he was young, found it hard to cope with his rise through the high-end hairdressing industry and had substance problems until he started to turn his life around in 2015.

He said: "We shouldn't have to reach breakdown to reach breakthrough because if we'd been given the right tools from an early age then things could be very different for La Passerelle students and for all of us."

Sarah smiles at the camera. She is standing in a classroom wearing a light blue jumper with a white shirt underneath. She has long brown hair which comes over her shoulders and brown eyes.

Executive head teacher at La Passerelle, Sarah Anderson-Rawlins, said children would also feel the benefits outside the classroom

Sarah Anderson-Rawlins, executive head teacher at La Passerelle, is working with Mr Byrne on the project involving 45 students at the secondary school.

She said the school was "very lucky" to have Mr Byrne’s support which he was supplying at "no cost" to La Passerelle.

Ms Anderson-Rawlins added: "This is about going out into the wider community and sharing the students' experiences and for it to be able to ripple out into the future."

Tiarni is looking at the camera and wears a black top with her hands in her pockets. She's in an art classroom with drawings on the walls and a skelton in the background. Behind her to her left is a teacher holding a pencil looking at paper. Tiarni has long dark hair.

Student Tiarni, 15, has been impressed by the start of the project

One of the students taking part in the project is 15-year-old Tiarni.

She said the scheme was "inspirational" and helped children like her to "express themselves".

"I think it really helps us to spread our feelings because people like to set standards of what you should be and I don't think that’s right," Tiarni said.

The I Can, I Am, and I Will project will continue for three months at La Passerelle School.

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Help for students who struggle to attend school

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