A group of enthusiastic youngsters from Glenmoor and Winton Academy visited HMS Sultan recently with the Jon Egging Trust to learn all about leadership and teamwork within the Royal Navy.
A total of 12 year 9 pupils spent a day visiting the Defence College of Technical Training’s Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS) taking on a number of challenges along the way.
After receiving a brief on how leadership works, the pupils were given a number of leaderless tasks designed to enhance their communications, confidence, and team building skills, to complete.
Gavin Darwin, Pastoral Leader at Glenmoor and Winton Academy said: “The activities have helped the children to develop resilience and communication with each other and have included blind folded activities and getting across an assault course with a lot of other distractions.”
“The feedback from the students has been really positive.
“I think the thing they’ve enjoyed the most is being trusted to get involved in activities and not being mollycoddled too much.
“I think that they’ve been told that these are things that young recruits do and that has given them a feeling of being quite grown up.”
The Jon Egging Trust was established in memory of Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, who lost his life whilst completing an air display with the Red Arrows at the Bournemouth Air Festival in 2011.
The Trust provides teamwork, leadership, and work experience opportunities to young people.
Regional Manager for The Jon Egging Trust, Allie Hack accompanied the children throughout the visit, she said: “We’ve had a fairly long ruining relationship with HMS Sultan and we are so grateful to Captain Towell for giving his support for these days.
“The program for today has been amazing and for us as a trust, especially with Jon having had an RAF background it is really nice for us to be able to make a Naval Link and allow children to have those experiences.”
“What’s been fantastic for these children today is that they have been able to speak to people from the really junior trainee right through to the experienced officers, to hear their stories and see how much the Navy has given them in terms of their careers and development.
“These kids need to know that and know that the opportunity is there for them and that life doesn’t have to have limited horizons.”
Lieutenant Adam Miller who organised the visit said: “It’s been a really positive day for everyone, with the children really embracing the tasks and you could see them growing in confidence and understanding.
“It’s been a privilege to host them on behalf of the Establishment.”
