Pupils and teachers from a school in Dorset have won an award for celebrating LGBT+ Pride, presented by two stars of the hit Netflix show Heartstopper.

Actors Corinna Brown and Tobie Donovan presented school pupils and teachers from Yewstock School and College - a community Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) school in Sturminster Newton - with an award for their Pride Group at the Just Like Us charity awards.

Yewstock School and College in Sturminster Newton were awarded The Pride Group of the Year award.

The school won the award for going "above and beyond" to help LGBT+ pupils feel safe and celebrated at school, showing outstanding efforts to platform the voices of all their Pride Group members.

Yewstock School’s Rainbow Alliance meets weekly to learn about and discuss LGBT+ topics, read stories, do group activities, and the group has even hosted assemblies on LGBT+ inclusion for the wider school community.

For School Diversity Week 2023, the Rainbow Alliance held a mini Pride festival for the entire school, which involved a performance by a local singer, a doughnut sale, a photo booth, raffle and more.

Corinna Brown said: “Heartstopper is a show that follows the lives of LGBT+ young people and school shapes so much of their experiences.

"Having played Tara in Heartstopper, I know just how common it is for young lesbians to feel ashamed of who they are. In fact, Just Like Us’ research showed that 68% of lesbians delay coming out because they feel ashamed.”

Tobie Donovan said: “We need to make sure that LGBT+ young people don’t grow up feeling ashamed of who they are. Just Like Us helps schools to set up Pride Groups so they have a lunchtime club in school, where they can go to feel safe and accepted.

“The winner of this award is a school that has shown outstanding efforts to platform the voices of all their Pride Group members and improve their school for everyone.”

Yewstock School and College staff champion Naomi Culley said: “All the students that take part in our Rainbow Alliance work so hard to go above and beyond to organise events in school to raise awareness of diversity and the importance of inclusion for all students in our school.

"Our students represent many other students across the country and worldwide, who are trying to find their place in the world and to be true to who they are.”