Blue Skies students graduate at Bournemouth University

The final day of Blue Skies Levels 1 (Teamwork) & 2 (Leadership) 2015 had arrived.

After enjoying a wonderful and insightful three month programme of events the students were about to present on their experiences to an invited audience, including VIP Air Vice Marshall Atha, a Patron of the charity.

There were 29 young people eager to tell the story of their Blue Skies journey from their initial meeting with CEO Dr Emma Egging when they were inspired to join the programme, right up to their last session when they wrote and practised their talks.

The Blue Skies students told the crowd about the trips they had been on with the programme and how interesting they were. We heard how exciting their time with Wessex Archaeology was, learning about soldiers in WW1 and how important teamwork and leadership skills were. The Level 1 students were intrigued to learn from Phil Harding about flint axes and how they were made.

The students found it hard to pick their favourite session. The Level 1 students enjoyed a team building day with Cobham at Bournemouth Airport learning about the work of the defence group and again, how important teamwork is in everyday life.

The Level 2 students took on the challenge of building and programming a robot at MoD Boscombe Down. Their teamwork skills came into their own and the youngsters learned about their own leadership skills as they took charge of their teammates.

The audience, made up of parents, RAF personnel, and VIPs all agreed that the young people spoke with enthusiasm and the message was clear to everyone just how much had been gained by the participants. They all agreed that they found it easier to work within a team and had become more confidence since embarking on their personal Blue Skies journey.

Dr Emma Egging, CEO and co-founder of the trust, said: “The Jon Egging Trust is all about inspiring young people to be the best they can be by introducing them to role models and influential people and today brings that ethos to life.

“They have experienced once in a lifetime opportunities. It enables these students to develop their skills and to see what’s out there.

Air Vice Marshall Atha, who is a Patron of the Jon Egging Trust added: “For me it’s why we do it. This is the culmination of what the Jon Egging Trust and Blue Skies is all about. It’s a symbolic moment.

William, 14, who goes to Winton, said: “I’ve been a lot more confident in myself and I’ve learnt a lot about programming, which is what I want to do when I’m older.”

Alainya, 15, who attends Glenmoor, added: “It’s been great, I’ve spent lots of time with people that I’ve not met before and making new friends has been great; we’re all close now.”

Max, 13, from Bourne Academy, said: “It’s been really interesting to get to know all of the different things that the RAF does and what Jon Egging did. It’s brought us all together.”