When a group of Year 11 students came together for their KEY+ Stage 1 project, they had one clear goal - to have fun together and honour their friend Kye, who tragically passed away from leukaemia.
They decided to do something powerful that Kye would've loved in his memory: a charity football match that would raise money, bring people together, and celebrate Kye’s life in the best way they knew how: “It’s what Kye would’ve wanted.”
Their idea quickly became a full-scale event at South Shields FC, with Year 9s playing against Year 11s. The group threw themselves into every part of the planning – from designing posters and writing matchday programmes to running raffles and halftime activities. Their event saw the attendance of over 1,000 people.
They handled all the marketing themselves, creating a JustGiving page to sell tickets (which came with a raffle entry, offering a chance to win one of the 60 prizes up for grabs – all donated by members of the community and businesses) and spreading the word across their community.
During the planning process, the group enjoyed how close the project has brought them together, saying “it’s just brought us closer than ever.”
Balancing revision with event planning wasn’t easy: “especially because we’ve got our GCSEs as well, so we had to prioritise our time with this and exam stuff.” It was also “hard to plan everything in the short amount of time that we had but I think we’ve done quite well.”
The impact was personal too: “It helped me a lot with growing trust around people I didn’t know at the start. I’ve definitely developed my communication skills, which will help me a lot further in life.”
This process has supported them to manage their grief and develop their self-confidence and self-esteem as they built more positive connections with the community, their peers and teachers at school. They overcame problems such as organising a date for the non-uniform day and not being able to host a bake sale. They also made important decisions such as creating the programme, designing the medals and choosing the colours of the event.
Moments That Meant Everything
Some of the most powerful memories came from the small things: “I think the sweet sale and badge sale that we had, it sounds very silly but only then we realised how much support we really had and it started to feel very real.”
When asked what the group were most proud of during this project and event, the answer was simple we’re “proud of Kye”, “proud of all of us for coming here and making this happen”, proud of “how much this reflects off the person he was, he was just a great person, and this is a great thing.”
Their facilitator, Aimee, witnessed the group’s transformation first hand saying “At the start I don’t think they would have gone to the head of teacher or head of year… now they’ve grown in confidence to ask for things.” She continued: “They’ve just been really really amazing.”
While the group aren’t sure about what comes next, one thing is certain – they want to inspire others: “Outside of it, hopefully [we can] encourage people to do something similar if they’re going through a similar thing.”
Their advice to others? “Don’t do it by yourself, do it with the people around you that you love and trust.”
A Lasting Legacy
As the crowd filled the stadium and the match kicked off, it became clear that this was so much more than a game. It was a tribute. A community effort. A beautiful act of remembrance.
About the amount they raised for Teenage Cancer Trust, which totalled to be £4,000, the group said, “even if it’s a big or small amount [of money made from the event], it will still help somebody who needs it.”
Their facilitator, Aimee, also said: “They have inspired the whole school community to come together and raise money in memory of Kye. They are a true inspiration to others, creating this incredible event whilst battling grief and managing Year 11. They want to continue organising more fundraising events in memory of Kye, proving how much they have benefitted from this process.”
Kye’s Kick Off showed just how powerful young people can be when they’re driven by love, purpose and unity.
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The Key