Bristol Learning City supports all-female ‘Get on Track’ programme

As part of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust all–female ‘Get on Track’ (GOT) programme running in Bristol this summer, Bristol Learning City supported volunteers to deliver mock interviews for the group. ‘Get on Track’ is a personal and social development programme to support young people facing disadvantage. This summer saw the fifth programme delivered by 2nd Chance Group supported by The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport). All the young women who have taken part will move into positive progressions within education, employment or training. With help from Bristol Learning City a volunteering opportunity was disseminated through their Learning Ambassadors and partner network, the response to support was overwhelming. The event saw 12 volunteers deliver mock interviews for all the graduates of the GOT programme.

Learning Ambassadors and volunteers from a variety of organisations donated their professional time to support young women who are facing disadvantage. The opportunity for the group of young women aged 16 – 25 to undergo a series of mock interviews became a learning environment for everyone involved. After a short briefing and a few nervous introductions the group were off to a flying start. The interviewers just outnumbered the interviewees which left a good pause for feedback to be collated for each of the young women. As the timer ran down the four minutes allocated for the ‘speed dating’ style mock interviews, each young woman appeared to gain confidence after each rotation. Smiling and introducing themselves with handshakes recounting challenges they had encountered over the last five weeks whilst participating in the ‘Get on Track’ programme.

Bethan Turner, a Staff Development Advisor for the University of Bristol said:

“I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the ‘Get on Track’ session yesterday, and how much I learnt from it – from the girls themselves, from the staff in charge and from the other volunteers. It was the first time I’d volunteered for a programme such as this and found the experience thought-provoking and inspiring”.

Led by world class athletes The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust use athletes as mentors to realise the five key attitudes in young people to the full – Focus, Resilience, Motivation, Confidence, Determination – which will lead to making positive life choices. The all-female programme run this summer in Bristol has been supported by Annie Vernon – Olympic Silver Medallist rower and Philippa Tuttiett World Class rugby player supported by Jemma Lowe Olympic Swimmer. The athletes used time before the volunteer session to prepare the young women to ensure they could answer questions posed in interviews around some of the key themes of the programme:

  • Communication
  • Team Work
  • Volunteering
  • Leadership

The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and Wesport would like to thank the volunteers and the support from Bristol Learning City; they look forward to working closely with the Partnership for future projects.

The Get on Track programme will celebrate the achievements of the all-female group with a celebration event on Thursday 8th September 1 – 3pm at The Watershed in Bristol. For more information and to book your space at the event, please contact: info@wesport.org.uk

To become a Learning Ambassador for Bristol Learning City or for more information, please visit: www.bristollearningcity.com/become-a-learning-ambassador