Strictly Come Dancing star Molly Rainford visits Ilford school

Pupils at an east London school were visited by two surprise celebrities as part of a national pen pal scheme designed to help stamp out bullying.

CBBC and Strictly Come Dancing stars Molly Rainford, who grew up in Havering, and Rhys Stephenson, who also spent time as a child in the borough, stopped by Cranbrook Primary School in Ilford on February 27 dressed as postal workers to deliver positive letters to the children.

The visit was part of an initiative run by anti-bullying charity, The Diana Award, and Nationwide Building Society, called The Positive Post Box.

Launched in October 2022 following The Big Anti-Bullying Assembly, the scheme invites pupils to write messages of kindness, which are then posted to children at another school.

So far, 300 schools and more than 120,000 pupils have taken part.

Samantha Patel, Year Six teacher at Cranbrook Primary, said: “We’ve loved being part of such a fantastic project, and I think The Positive Post Box has shown the children the huge difference that being kind can make.

“They really got stuck into writing their letters of positivity, and they were so excited to receive the messages from another school.

“Having Molly and Rhys come and deliver these personally was the best surprise as well – we can’t believe how lucky we were to be chosen.”

Molly said that partaking in the scheme was “an honour”, and described how seeing the children’s faces “absolutely made my day”.

Rhys added: “I’m so proud to be taking part in such a positive project. As somebody who has spoken publicly about bullying before, I will always support initiatives that spread positivity and respect. It’s been a privilege to watch the children writing and reading their letters.”

Romford Recorder: Some of the letters written by pupils at Cranbrook Primary School

Some of the letters written by pupils at Cranbrook Primary School (Image: Nationwide Building Society and The Diana Award)

Deputy chief executive of The Diana Award, Alex Holmes, said: “On the back of our annual Big Anti-Bullying Assembly with Nationwide Building Society which took place in October, it’s been great to be part of this brand-new initiative which encourages kindness through the revival of letter writing.

“Simple written messages of kindness can have a positive impact on both the sender and receiver. At The Diana Award we’re passionate about tackling negative behaviours by empowering young people to make change.

“We’ve loved seeing young people across the country putting pen to paper and sending their messages already and can’t wait to see many more positive messages.”