Students at Ellesmere Park High School in Salford have won First Prize in our national R U Different? Enterprise Awards and received £500 of high street vouchers between them.

They beat seven other finalists from across the UK, from Barnsley to Buckinghamshire, to take the top spot.

They wanted to spread the word that a huge 94% of their students would take action against bullying, so they created Benjamin the anti-bullying buddy as a cardboard cut-out for students to pose with him, sharing photos on social media. They even sold Benjamin printed stressballs in the school and donated the proceeds to charity.

Elisa (14), part of the winning group said “We wanted everyone to see our campaign, especially the year 7’s so they know that our school is a safe environment to be in”.

The campaign was highly commended on the different elements; the creation of the character Benjamin (who students really took to!), the big bold 3D structure and the social media integration, all of which fit really well into the school’s current anti-bullying strategy.

Kerril Casey, Teacher at Ellesmere Park High who has co-ordinated the R U Different? programme there said “We are a really proud anti-bullying school so absolutely love the Benjamin campaign. The reaction to it has been amazing – every day I walk past, there are students posing with it. We are very proud of the students”.