COUSINS from Bowdon have set up the first Sikh Society in the 500-year history of Manchester Grammar School (MGS).

Marvy Nerwan, 16, and his cousin Hukam Nerwan, 15, have founded MGS’ Sikh Soc, which has attracted 70 members so far.

The pupils are now aiming to set up their own website to give young members of the Sikh community in Manchester, and beyond, a platform.

Hukam said: “When we saw some of the young Year 7 Sikhs who started at the school this year, they looked a little bit lost and it can be daunting starting at such a big school, so we wanted to do something that would unite them.

“We wanted Sikh Soc to be a place where boys at MGS could come together, have fun and develop a real sense of community.”

Although it was initially set up to help young Sikhs feel at home, Sikh Soc is open to all boys at the school and the society’s members are now drawn from many different religions and backgrounds.

Marvy said: “For us, it is all about bringing together people from different backgrounds and religious persuasions and creating a strong sense of community between them.

“In the future, we hope that we can set up a Sikh Society in the MGS Junior School and when those boys grow up, they can take over from us so we’re looking at this as a long-term project.”

Since the society was founded, Marvy and Hukam, have staged a charity night to raise funds for the Busoga Trust, one of the school’s chosen charities. The trust provides sustainable access to safe water, improved sanitation and comprehensive hygiene and health education to the communities in rural Uganda and the society raised £600 which was match-funded by the Government’s UK Aid Match.

There have also been talks about Indian culture and next week, there will be a debate as to whether Sikhs should be allowed to carry the kirpan – a ceremonial knife – in public. The debate will be recorded live and uploaded to the cousin’s proposed website, which is expected to go online later this summer.