North-West London Jewish Day School has introduced a leadership and character development scheme to encourage pupil’s personal growth and understanding of the world around them.

Eight students have completed the first of the four-stage North West Award programme, each of which requires 30 hours of activities.

The first stage, personal development, involves taking up a hobby such as learning a language or an instrument, playing sport, or doing cooking, photography or sewing.

The next three stages of the award, which is open to years 3 to 6, are about supporting others: supporting others in the local community: and finally doing a social action project.

For the final challenge, pupils will have to draw up an action plan for their project which sets out its rationale and the impact they hope to make.

The scheme is part of the Willesden school’s commitment, a spokesman said, to help children “be the change they want to be”.