It was graduation time for 130 mums and daughters from seven schools across Manchester who attended a prestigious graduation event this week to celebrate their successful completion of the Mosaic Primary School Programme.

During the graduation event held at Manchester Metropolitan University, the pupils aged between 9 and 11, shared their positive experiences on the Mosaic Primary School programme with influential business leaders, teachers and mentors.

Mosaic would like to thank Criterion Capital and the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery for their generous support of the primary school mentoring programme.

The schools involved in the programme were Fiddler’s Lane Primary School, Oswald Road Primary School, St John’s Primary School, St Luke’s Primary School, St Mary’s Primary School, Whalley Range High School and The Willows Primary School.

The programme which aims to equip pupils with the skills to connect education to work at an early age also helps empower their mothers, enabling them to support their child in reaching their full potential.

The key note speaker at the event was Gillian Easson – Chairman of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, who shared her experiences with the girls and encouraged them to believe in their own abilities and be confident as they moved through life. Gillian has worked closely with Mosaic in the past and earlier this year was a guest judge on the North West Regional Final of the Enterprise Challenge.

Gillian Easson trained and started her career as a solicitor in Stockport 30 years ago and went on to become one of the first female prosecuting solicitors in the North West.

Gillian joined the Trust as a non-executive director in 2007 and was Deputy Chairman for six years until her appointment as Chairman in 2012.

She was previously a non-executive director of The Christie cancer centre, is currently the first female Pro-Chancellor of The University of Manchester and is a member of the University of Manchester’s Global Leadership Board. She regularly lectures, contributes to publications and has undertaken reviews on behalf of Monitor, the Foundation Trust regulator.

Gillian commented: “It is a great honour to be involved with the Mosaic graduations and to witness first-hand the impact this important programme is having in our local community and the positive benefits it has for the young girls and their mothers.

“Being confident in life and having belief in your own abilities will greatly contribute to these pupils’ success, not only as they continue through their education, but as they embark on their life as young women. It’s wonderful to hear the girls talk about their future with such energy and enthusiasm.”