Benjamin, one of the young people we\u2019re helping through our BubbleBusters project, has been having a horrid time recently but we couldn\u2019t be more happy for him!<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a huge fan of the children\u2019s TV show Horrid Henry and was thrilled to be invited to star in a recent official Horrid Henry Unlocked podcast, where he chatted about his favourite characters and episodes. He\u2019s now also the proud owner of a certificate that makes him a member of Henry\u2019s infamous \u2018Purple Hand Gang\u2019. Benjamin also had the chance to talk about his little BubbleBusters AV1 robot that lets him \u2018attend\u2019 school from home via an iPad while he\u2019s in medical isolation due to his leukaemia treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can control its head when it\u2019s in the classroom, and it shows me what\u2019s happening in class if I can\u2019t go to school,\u201d he said during the podcast, \u201cAnd I get to talk to my friends!\u201d<\/p>\n
The telepresent robot has helped him stay socially connected, feel part of school life and prevented him from falling too far behind with his education. It\u2019s going to be a while before it\u2019s safe for him to go back into the classroom in person, but in the meantime his positivity and story-writing skills have recently earned him a \u2018Star of the Term\u2019 award. \u201cHe\u2019s proud of himself,\u201d said his mum Katy, \u201cand I\u2019m proud of him too!\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s even more brilliant news from Brilliant Benjamin, and we look forward to supporting his family and school for as long as he needs to make his isolation a little less horrid.<\/p>\n
Huge thanks to Lucinda Whiteley and all the team at Novel Entertainment who are behind the Horrid Henry Unlocked podcast, and B4, organisers of Oxford\u2019s BIO2020 event where we first met.<\/p>\n
Below: Benjamin on the Horrid Henry Unlocked podcast<\/em><\/p>\n