Fife Colleges Princes Trust students marked the end of their course recently by showcasing their very own event to celebrate their achievements and thank those who have supported them along the way!
Over 800 young people have been recruited on to the Princes Trust programme over the past 16 years helping them build confidence and gain skills to turn their lives around!
The special celebration event for Team 52 was held at the Colleges Stenton Campus in Glenrothes, which marked the successful completion of the teams 12 week personal development course.
At the event, the students were presented with a range of certificates for subjects they had completed including Cooking Skills and First Aid, by Iain Hawker, Assistant Principal.
The students spoke about their fundraising community projects including work they carried out at Star Primary School. The group started the project by raising 300 from a Tropical Fayre and bake sale at the Colleges Stenton Campus in Glenrothes which they used to buy paint and other items to freshen up the playground. Thanks to the group the pupils at Star Primary are now enjoying a revamped playground with colourful tyres to jump through and painted external areas with an outdoor marble run and xylophone.
The pupils at Star Primary were very appreciative and sent in a thank you video which was played at the event.
Each of the students also made their own individual presentation to explain to the audience what the programme meant to them.
Kaleb Anderson, 17 from Glenrothes thoroughly enjoyed the course which has helped him decide what to do next. Said Kaleb: I have gained a lot of experience and new skills from the Princes Trust course. One of the favourite parts of the course for me was my work placement with the Colleges Marketing Team in Dunfermline. I hope to go on to do a sports course at college in September.
Another course member who also enjoyed and benefitted from the experience was Laura Appleby from Edinburgh. Lauras day job is working for HMRC dealing with Large Business Tax but got the opportunity, through work, to join the programme for 20 days to act as a role model to help mentor and support the team.
Said Laura: One of my managers had done a similar thing before so when I saw it advertised I jumped at the chance. It was great to join the students in their activities including the residential, very different to my normal work which is dealing with businesses people. It was a challenge to do something like this which was out my comfort zone but I learned a great deal and would thoroughly recommend it.
The students were also joined at the presentation event by their tutors, family and friends.
Siobhan Shepherd, Team Leader, was very proud of the Teams achievements and said:
Celebrating our 52nd Princes Trust Team Programme is a fantastic achievement and we are very proud of all our staff and students who have been involved in the Programme over the years. The Programme allows students to gain valuable life and work skills as they bond together on the various planned activities throughout the course.
Team 52 were amazing and they did especially well with their fundraising and community activities.
Im sure that the students would describe their 12-week journeys in different ways, with many ups and downs just like everyday life, most importantly they have each learnt and grown from their experiences.
This final event is a great end to a fantastic three months and gives the students a chance to celebrate their achievements with their family, friends and with the staff from partnership agencies who support them throughout the process.
I would like to thank everyone involved and wish Team 52 the very best of luck for the future.
The Princes Trust Team Programme is an employability and personal development course which, alongside giving students practical skills, also awards a National 4 qualification upon completion.
The future looks bright for the group, with each of them hoping to use their newfound skills to progress onto other College courses or gain employment.
The Team Programme is run by Fife College in conjunction with the Princes Trust for those aged 16-25 who are looking for a brighter future. It offers the opportunity to improve motivation, qualifications, confidence and existing talents while learning new skills. The course includes a community project, team building residential, work placement and CV writing and job application workshops.
Applications are now open for the next programmes starting in May and September. For more information contact Siobhan on 07921 485556 or email siobhanshepherd@fife.ac.uk
