Children from across Preston to take part in Charity concert

Pupils from seven schools will perform alongside opera star Sean Ruane at the Emojinal Health concert, which will be held at the Guild Hall on Wednesday.

The concert is being staged by children’s charity Child Action Northwest (CANW) to launch an appeal to fund a new phone counselling service for five to 16 year olds.

Schools including St Ignatius’ Catholic Primary School, Longton Primary School, Whitefield Primary School in Penwortham and St Anthony’s Primary in Fulwood will take part in the event, which will bring together more than 500 children from schools across the county.

Sue Cotton, CEO of CANW said: “Figures show that one in ten children in Lancashire experience low level mental health issues. But only a quarter of those who need treatment will receive it.

That’s why we’re working to develop a phone counselling service which will help children address their worries at an early stage before they become part of a bigger issue.”

Speaking of the concert, Sue added: “We’ve got hundreds of young people from across Lancashire taking part in the concert, but we don’t just want people to come along and enjoy a great evening of uplifting songs and performance.

“We want them to think about how improving young people’s mental health can benefit families, schools and whole communities.”