Luke, Aged 14
When Luke* joined the Blue Skies programme he was very quiet and lacking in confidence and rarely spoke at the beginning. His teacher said he was very shy, taking a long time to warm to people.
Since Luke has completed one year of the Blue Skies programme, that’s all changed. His confidence has really increased and now his teacher says he puts his hand up in lessons and answers questions. At his JET graduation, Luke said “JET has enabled me to be the person I always wanted to be.”
Previously Luke thought going to university wasn’t an option for him but since visiting a university as part of the programme, he’s now really keen to apply. His teacher said, “I really don’t think this would be the case without the JET experience.”
The impact of the Blue Skies programme has been evident outside of school too. Luke’s mum recently got married, and Luke felt he had the confidence to give a speech at the wedding. His mum said this was something she couldn’t have envisioned him doing before he joined JET.
*Name has been changed.
Our latest stories
Zara, Aged 13
Zara is a young carer; her mother won’t leave the flat they live in and Zara’s stepfather is blind. Zara was selected by her school to join the Blue...
Tom, Aged 12
Tom is 12 and cares for his mum. As the main carer, he is also responsible for his mum’s personal hygiene care in addition to cooking and cleaning,...
Sarah, Aged 15
Sarah joined the Blue Skies programme when she was in Year 9 because she had developed severe anxiety and lacked confidence. In school, this was...
Nathan, Aged 15
"When I first started school my outlook on life was that school didn’t really matter. My grades went down until something came along that made me...
Lee, Age 15
Lee* was a student on our three-year Blue Skies programmes in Hampshire. His headteacher tells us how the support he has received from JET has...
Josh, Aged 22
“I joined the JET programme around the age of 13. I would have described myself as a very quiet and shy, that had trouble engaging in conversions...