Leadership Academy Students Achieve Their First Goal

Earlier this academic year the Newcastle School Games Team were excited to launch their Leadership Academy for the first time.  The team established the academy to provide a bespoke package for its members and were committed to working with young people demonstrating a professional approach to their leadership activity, hence the inclusion of a mentoring aspect.

Students from across the city in Years 10-13 were encouraged to apply to be members of the academy and showcase the qualities and experience they would bring to the table; as well as source a reference from a member of staff at their school.

Successful candidates have been issued with their own personal logbooks which include a description of the School Games Values, a Code of Conduct, a description of the Mentoring Process, a page for some Personal Goal Setting, somewhere to log their hours throughout the year and a competition calendar.

The Leadership Academy provides young people with opportunities to officiate, coach and event manage at School Games events in our calendar.  Feedback is then provided to the individual and staff back at their school so that achievements can be celebrated accordingly.  In connection with this we've also established a Reward Scheme linked to the academy as we think it’s really important to acknowledge the positive impact our Leaders have on our younger children across the city.

Today’s blog has come about because on Friday we had cause to celebrate the achievements of a couple of our Leaders who attend Excelsior Academy; 3 students from the school have been the first to achieve the first milestone on the Reward Scheme and were presented with their Leadership Academy T-Shirts as a result.

These students have attended a number of our School Games events and proved to be more than competent in the way they organised the groups of young people they were working with.  They were punctual, polite and professional in their approach on each occasion and a credit to Excelsior School.  The staff at the school support their leaders and also support the School Games team by hosting events at their facility.

We very much look forward to working with them as the year continues and the opportunity to reward them further as they engage with the programme more and more.  Working with young people with their qualities is not only a pleasure but they bring additional positive outcomes to the events we organise.

The Newcastle School Games Team cant wait to have more members of the Leadership Academy wearing the t-shirts and sharing their experiences with their peers, family and staff.