2023 Outward Bound Trust Award

At the end of Feb 2023, the Jo Walters Trust helped to fund 64 young people, age 13 - 14, from Stewarton Academy in Ayrshire attended a 5 day residential course with the Outward Bound Trust at Loch Eil. The aim of the course was for the young people to build on their teamworking and communication skills, understanding that by doing this they can create opportunities for achievement and success.

The young people took on a range of adventures including sea kayaking, zip lining, and overnight expeditions where they hiked to and from their campsites. The group also enjoyed the immersion in nature, spending time looking at different floral and fauna and learning about local folklore.
The Outward Bound instructors wished to share what a fantastic and capable group of young people they were. They were keen to take on all the challenges and were very receptive to using their learning journals to understand how their experiences and the skills they learnt on their course could help them in the future.

There is a comprehensive report on the course available here, but some of the encouraging feedback we got was that 74% of young people reported that their confidence in meeting and working with new people had increased as a result of the trip.