Visit to HMS Victory

A visit to HMS Victory was organised for the Teamwork Level 1 students to meet inspirational members of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, learn about naval history and the Battle of Trafalgar on-board Admiral Nelsons’ Ship and importantly to develop their presentation and public speaking skills.

Even though the day started very wet and windy the students were soon drying off on-board HMS Victory. We were warmly welcomed by the Executive Officer (XO) of HMS Victory – Lt Steven Clarke RN, and the students were given a topic to research and ask questions about. These would then form the basis of their first public speaking session later in the afternoon.

The XO started the bespoke tour of the ship telling stories from the time to the excited students. His accounts included the history behind the sayings ‘a square meal’ and ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ but also included information on what the sailors ate and drank and their working day. The students saw the areas were the sailors would have slept, the hospital and the primitive medical instruments used for amputations, the guns and the storage areas.

After a wet and windy lunch outside, the students quickly came together as two small teams and offered their ideas on what made a good and bad presentation. Taking all the points on board, each student then came to the front of the class and delivered their presentation on their given topic. These included the food on-board, the guns, the hospital and amputation, the death of Nelson etc. Some students needed a little coaxing and encouragement but others were very willing and confidently delivered their first ever presentation in front of their peers.

My hope for the day was that the students enjoyed learning about HMS Victory and The Battle of Trafalgar whilst being on board, that they learnt how to deliver a good presentation but more importantly that their confidence around both their peer group and other people grew.

It was interesting to see how the team dynamics have changed over the period of working with the students, how they seem more comfortable talking and working effectively with each other. Some of the quieter or less confident individuals have grown and developed not only over the months but also during the day.