Children’s minister – wrong shoes but right attitude

It was fun to choreograph a dance routine for 50 young people.

They came from different parts of London so I had to go and visit them at their projects and then bring them together for the first time on the day of the show.

But we were united by being part of Positive Futures. And we were joining in a national celebration of young people turning our back on drugs.

Despite being different ages, different abilities and having different dance styles, I was amazed at just how well the dance went. I think we performed better in front of the crowd in Leicester Square Gardens.

It got everyone’s adrenalin going, that’s for sure. At one point the children’s minister Baroness Morgan asked me to show her some of the dance moves.

She didn’t have the right shoes, but she definitely had the right attitude when I tried to teach her a bit of our street dance routine.

She spoke to lots of the young people about drugs and about Positive Futures.

And so did I. I was shocked by how much the young ones knew about drugs. One 12 year old said he had taken cannabis and wanted to know more about the dangers of drugs.

I think it’s good to educate younger children about drugs so that they will cope better with the peer pressure which they will inevitably find when they get older.

All the young people I spoke to said they thought drugs were bad, and loved the way Positive Futures tried to tackle drug misuse through the projects and their activities.

The event was really successful because it was driven by young people. So often these events are for young people but organised and run by adults.

This one felt different and I think it was more effective because, for example, I was involved. I’m only just 20, but still a young person myself and I sorted out the dance routine for us all.

I hope Positive Futures does more things like this – bringing young people and projects together to celebrate the work we do.