Katherine of Aragon Talk

Following the success of previous historical talks, Purple Horizons were delighted and honoured that leading local historian Andrew Bamford was our guest speaker at Tilbrook Village Hall on 9th October. The talk was entitled Katherine of Aragon Dignity, Determination and Courage. Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England, the first wife of King Henry VIII, died in Kimbolton Castle and is buried in Peterborough Cathedral.

 Andrew’s talk looked at the national and international importance of Katharine of Aragon. Her life and significance was analysed, with some additional special focus on her local connections and in particular, Andrew will focus on the exile of Katharine in Huntingdonshire. 

All funds raised from this talk benefitted The William Templeton Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health (YPMH), an independent UK charity working to reduce the prevalence and impact of mental health conditions in young people — from early adolescence through early adulthood.

We are delighted our event raised £377.50 for this amazing cause to support their work with Anglian Learning, an academy trust with approximately 20 schools across the East of England. The funds support the provision of accessible information to staff, pupils, parents and carers and their Mental Health strand of Anglian Learning’s Belonging by Design strategy. Their work includes providing accessible information to staff, pupils, parents and carers about what depression is and what causes it, how to manage personal risk factors and how to make simple lifestyle choices that promote positive mental health.

In the current school year, our focus has been on providing online information, webinars and videos to staff, parents and carers. We are about to start planning the programme for pupils, which will begin in September.

While the initial focus is on depression, the prevention strategies will promote overall mental wellbeing. YPMH’s research highlights the impact of everyday factors such as food, movement, sleep, chronic stress, loneliness, and substance use on mental health. Improvements in these areas can help prevent and even reduce conditions like depression.

YPMH is also helping Anglian Learning to select and implement an evidence-based system to detect pupils in mental distress, identifying appropriate support pathways for those identified depending on severity.

The collaboration between Anglian Learning and YPMH is described here https://anglianlearning.org/belonging-by-design-mental-health/