By Sarah Dale
22 December 2025
The POW campaign aims to raise aspirations of young people in the Tees Valley and beyond.
Could you be a role model for children and young people in the North-east?
Power of Women (POW), a community interest company (CIC) established following the publication of a report* which claimed that Middlesbrough was the “worst place for a girl to grow up”, has been working hard in primary and secondary schools across Teesside and further afield to encourage and nurture both girls and boys to “aim higher” and thrive.
The brainchild of the late Professor Jane Turner OBE DL, who wanted to reverse the predicted outcomes of girls and young women, the campaign works with girls and boys in schools to show all young people how to raise their aspirations and ambition.
Based on the idea that ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’, PoW’s sponsors and ambassadors within the business community work with children and young people in schools as mentors and role models.
The pupil ambassador programme was started in September 2021 with five schools in Teesside. It now works in 24 primary schools and several secondary schools in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar, Hartlepool, Darlington and Aycliffe, and has inspired hundreds of children and young people to apply to become an ambassador.
With support from the business community, who provide financial support and give up their time to interview and appoint pupil ambassadors as well as attending development days to talk about industry, the campaign – spearheaded by Sophie McKenna – continues to grow.
Head of campaign and operations at POW, Sophie McKenna says: “We have worked with almost 30 schools. We have 200 role models and our target is to double the number to allow us to showcase a wide range of industries and sectors. If you can see it, you can be it.
“POW is all about building a community, bringing together education and business and a host of organisations who all believe in the power of raising ambition and aspiration in the future generation.”
The primary schools supported by POW this year are: Aycliffe Village Primary School – Newton Aycliffe, Brambles Primary Academy, Middlesbrough, Coatham Primary School – Redcar, Discovery Special Academy, Middlesbrough, Dormanstown Primary Academy – Redcar, Eldon Grove Academy, Hartlepool, Heathfield Primary School, Darlington, Marton Manor, Middlesbrough, Pallister Park Primary, Middlesbrough, Pennyman Primary Academy, Middlesbrough, Roseberry Primary School, Billingham, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Middlesbrough, St Bede’s Catholic Academy, Stockton-on-Tees, St Bega’s, St Benedict’s, St Gabriel’s, Ormesby, St Helen’s Primary School, Hartlepool, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Norton, Thorntree Academy, Middlesbrough, Tilery Primary School, Stockton, West View Primary, Hartlepool, and Wilton Primary Academy, Lazenby. Secondary schools are: North Shore Academy, Stockton, Bishopsgarth Outwood – Stockton, Bydales Outwood – Marske, Boroughbridge Secondary School with several more in the planning.
North Shore students have been invited to business lunches and events as part of their development, and primary school ambassadors have visited Cambridge University, Tracerco, PD Ports, and Ampleforth College.
POW runs community and networking events across the Tees Valley. More information can be found on the POW website.
POW is supported by a range of local and national businesses, including AbacusBean, Active Financial, Bentley’s Coffee Shop, BTS Fabrications, Climb & Conquer, Cygnet Law, Her Invest, HR2Day, Jacksons, Moonrise 24 hr Recruitment, New World Financial, Opportunity Global, PD Ports, PX Group, Resolution Media & Publishing, SASS media, Spark, Taylor Wimpey, Teesside University, The Digital Gene, The Hub Events, Thirteen, 360 Growth Partners, Tracerco, Visualsoft, Ward Hadaway, and Yellowbox.
For more information about POW, becoming a sponsor, the pupil ambassador programme or networking events, please visit https://powerofwomen.org.uk or email: hello@powerofwomen.org.uk
*The children’s charity, Plan International UK, published a report called The State of Girls’ Rights in the UK in 2016 which listed the top 10 best and worst places to be a girl in England and Wales. The areas were ranked according to child poverty, life expectancy, teenage pregnancy, GCSE results and numbers Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Middlesbrough was named the worst place for a girl to grow up in England and Wales.
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