Sixth formers attend leadership weekend with the Rotary Club

Categories: Archived School News

RYLA Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Like Youth Speaks, organised and funded by the Rotary Club, £250 per person. The trip was populated by 29 teenagers aged 16-17 from across the Rotary District 1140 along with three Rotarians and three helpers. It was located at Avon Tyrrell, an activity centre near the village of Burley, in the New Forest, Hampshire. Right, now the hard facts are out of the way, we can move on to the more subjective-based content.

It was actually awesome! But before I get carried away with the sentimental evaluation of the trip and how it was beneficial to our personal qualities I will give you a summary in bullet point form of some of the things we got up to:

• Canoeing, Archery, Low Ropes, Night Line
• Engaging interactive discussions, activities and debates:
      - Communication
      - Rumours
      - Issues affecting young people
• Intense friend-making
• Aesthetic treasure hunt and ‘The Great Egg Race’
• Free time stuff: table tennis, carpet bowls, Boccia, foosball, football, pool, dancing demonstrations, Jenga, impossible ball bearing puzzles, “scary” walks in the dark, pointless conversation, scrutinizing every aspect of the Rotarians’ behaviour etc. 
• Minimal Sleep
• THREE hot meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner, including tea, coffee, orange squash and a selection of unbranded biscuits served at 10:30 and 3:30)
 

“The weekend was a great experience overall. New friends were made, tried out some new activities like archery and low ropes which was fun and stayed in an awesome mansion. Plus, my preconceptions of what the group sessions were like were totally wrong. They were actually quite funny, compared to other ones I have taken part in. I feel that I have learned a few bits of precious knowledge that will help me out in the future, as well as ambitions to join the rotary club and follow in their footsteps. I would defiantly recommend it to anyone who sees themselves as a leader because it will certainly decipher if you are in fact leader material, you get away for the weekend and most importantly...it was free!” Jordan Walsh

“I really enjoyed the rotary weekend. There was a lot to do on this weekend and we did not have much free time during the day (not that the sessions were particularly brain draining). However, we did enjoy a few activities and team building games such as propelling an egg and playing with silly hats (none of us made it to the last round). I feel that I have learnt more about working and living with people that I have never met. I made a lot of friends and I look forward the reunion at the same place later on in the year.” Dan Kent

Matthew Bosley – Year 12