This is an amazing experience for any school leaver after a very stressful few months of exams at school. Not only did my confidence levels increase massively but also, I made a great group of new friends who I believe I will be friends with for a very long time. The summer programme consisted of four very different weeks. Week one and two were residential, in which we had to be independent and had to challenge ourselves, this has led to us feeling more willing and confident to try new stuff. The programme helped us to face our worst fears and allowed us to conquer them. The third week was preparation for our social action project, which our group decided to support our local charity the Grenfell club, this allowed us to give back to a charity which helps so many different people in our area who have learning difficulties. We planned an amazing fancy dress sponsored walk, a race night and a charity football match with stalls where we all together raised over £2100. The programme was excellent and we both made unforgettable memories.
After attending the summer programme all graduates had the opportunity to apply to be on the Regional Youth Board and attend Kickstart. Both mine and Abi’s applications were successful, we travelled to Milton Keynes where we met our Regional Youth Board team NE1. Here we took part in passion point sessions, meetings and team building activities. We then began planning our Regional Youth Board meetings for 2018/2019 and began to consider options for what we could do for social action day. The summer programme alone was an incredible experience but to be offered to do something after was an extra bonus and we both hope to do more over the next few years.