Yes Futures students go Into the Wild!

On 7th January, we were delighted to take almost fifty of our Finding Futures and Rising Futures students on an action-packed Into the Wild weekend!

Held at Kingswood’s Grosvenor Hall, Ashford, the weekend was filled with different activities that allowed the students to face their fears, challenge themselves, and earn lots of stars! The weekend was also a brilliant opportunity for students to demonstrate our four Yes Futures Talents: Confidence, Resilience, Communication, and Self-Awareness.

We were joined by students in Years 5-8 from Baylis Court School, Ditton Park Academy,

Almost fifty students from five different schools joined us for our Into the Wild adventure!

Goldsworth Primary School, Loudwater Combined School and Trinity Road Primary School. For many of the students, this was either their first time away from home, their first school trip since starting secondary school, or their first time visiting an outdoor activity centre, and so there were lots of excited faces when we stepped off the buses!

After arriving at Grosvenor Hall, we kicked off the weekend with our Welcome Challenge. Students got to know one another in a game of “find someone who…”, before being put into their activity groups and embarking on a scavenger hunt. Students were put in activity groups with students from different schools and different year groups, giving them the opportunity to make new friends and really demonstrate their communication skills.

Students flew through the air on the giant swing!

Throughout the weekend, students conquered their fears and proved their resilience in a range of thrilling activities. We saw students fly through the air on the 3G swing, and work together as a team to reach the top of Jacob’s Ladder. We also witnessed some fantastic teamwork and communication skills on the climbing wall, where students encouraged each other to persevere and make it to the top.

Back on the ground, it was great to see students supporting one another again on the Obstacle Challenge, with students demonstrating impressive resilience by persevering despite some very wet weather! During Problem Solving and Team Tech, each team had to race against the clock to complete a series of challenges, further demonstrating their teamwork and communication skills.

It was great to see students support one another on the obstacle course.

We rounded off the weekend with our Showcase Challenge, where each activity group presented what they’d learned from the weekend to an audience of fellow students, volunteers and Yes Futures staff. This activity required students to use all four of the Yes Futures Talents, as well as using their imaginations and leadership skills. We were blown away by the creativity, enthusiasm, and bravery of all of the students who took part in the Showcase, with a particular highlight being our first Showcase Challenge rap!

It was fantastic to see how much each student stepped out of their comfort zone, made new friendships, and strengthened their skills over the course of the weekend. We wish all of the students the very best of luck in their final coaching sessions and the rest of their Yes Futures programme!

The Into the Wild residential is an integral part of our Yes Futures programmes. To find out more about the programmes and how we can support your students, please contact our Acting Chief Executive, Sophie Bartlett, on sophie@yesfutures.org, or visit our programmes page.