Ste

“I was referred to Fairbridge by my Early Intervention Team worker because I have an illness called psychosis. I was also not working but in a part time job in gardening which I like to do as a hobby. On the access course we did a lot of fun activities. We did a high ropes course; it was fun to do and funny watching people do it. We also went on a night walk blind-folded whilst being directed by your partner. On the access course I felt really good and happy to be there. What I enjoyed most was the big swing at the end of the high ropes course and watching people’s faces as they were dropped. My challenges on the course were my communication skills. I wasn’t shy but I was not very talkative. At Fairbridge I have learnt to cook, rock climb, abseil, sail, do sports hall activities. I have gained a food hygiene certificate and many more including First Aid. What I like about Fairbridge is everything from the activities that we do and the staff who are fun, good to talk to, very nice and always point you in the right direction.

Spirit is a boat owned by Fairbridge. My first time on the boat was one of the best experiences I have had at Fairbridge. I felt really good and relaxed out at sea. I enjoyed the whole time I was on the boat and there wasn’t one bad thing about it. The hardest part about it was cooking while the boat was rocking away in the sea as I felt really sick. I have been asked back to Spirit by the crew for a race to Ireland. I am really excited and feeling good about going on the boat again; I am looking forward to meeting the crew again and the people I will meet for the first time. In the future I want to be a landscape gardener or do something in animal care. At the moment I am looking to do voluntary work for a while because I want to feel like I have given something back to the community.

Fairbridge has helped me in lots of different ways. I now have the communication skills and certificates to help me along the way. Fairbridge keeps pointing me in the right direction I need to go, whether it is college or voluntary work, Fairbridge will help me in every way they can”.

Jake

Before I started Fairbridge I was a ‘wanna be gangster’. Thinking it was funny to go round with my mates doing drugs, beating people up and stealing stuff. Things weren’t good at home. My dad thought me and my mum were punching bags, and as that was what I had grown up with I thought my younger brother and sister should grow up with it too so would hit them. Social services were involved with me from the age of 2 when my dad first hit me because I was crying. They then got involved with my brother and sister when I was in my early teens and put them on the child protection register because of what I was doing to them. School wasn’t going too good either, and I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in primary school. I got excluded from primary school because of my behaviour, and then attended 3 different high schools due to being excluded. I would fight with other students, argue with teachers and lose my temper really quickly, lashing out at anybody and anything.

When I was younger I’d been involved in lots of activities outside school like cadets and Thai boxing, but had stopped all of these activities as I’d wanted to hang around with my mates.

I was referred to Fairbridge just over 12 months ago as I was excluded from my second high school. I did an access course which was great fun. The staff were more laid back and listened to me, taking my views on board and were willing to compromise with me. The course was quite difficult at times due to some of the other people on it, but I stayed focused on my own goals and was able to keep my cool each day. I have done lots of other sessions since then and was even given the chance to go on Spirit which was great. The skipper said he’d be happy with me to come back on, saying he was really impressed with me! I’ve also gained lots of other awards with Fairbridge and met some cool people.

I started a new school after the summer holiday’s which was strange at first. I wasn’t used to mixing with so many people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and hadn’t really wanted to in the past. But I ended up speaking to an Asian lad in my class who ended up being one of my best mates. I got involved with extracurricular activities and became the operations manager of the Young Enterprise scheme in school. I didn’t mess about in class as I wanted to keep my head down and get on with my work. My access course had shown me what I could do with a fresh start and I wanted that to happen in school too. I was even able to keep control of my temper and be good in class. I realised how important it was to be open and honest with people, and opened up to people I was working with like RAP.

I also returned to cadets and set up a band called Corps Drums with my regimental mates. I picked up my Thai boxing again and also started doing my Duke of Edinburgh. I also started volunteering at my local Beavers centre with younger kids which I really enjoy. Things had also really improved at home. Me and my brother and sister were taken off the child protection register as I had stopped fighting with them, and had started to spend time with my dad who had stopped drinking.

Unfortunately even though I wanted a fresh start some students found out why I’d been excluded from other schools and started putting pressure on me to mess about again. I managed to stay away from them most of the time, but because of my reputation other kids always wanted to fight me. After nearly 12 months of not getting into trouble another pupil accused me of GBH and I was automatically excluded as the school believed him and not me. So, I came back to Fairbridge as I was comfortable there and wanted to keep myself busy, mixing with people and doing fun stuff rather than just being stuck at home. I told staff what had happened in school and they did not judge me, letting me attend sessions and keep busy.

Thankfully I received an absolute discharge in court regarding the charges of assault, and the other pupil was found to have lied. Because I had been out of school for a while they would not let me back, so I managed to get a place at Bury College. I am now doing a Btec 1^st Diploma in Business, a course that college kids would usually do! I’m also doing science, maths, English and art GCSE’s as well as ICT and Key skills maths and English on my rest days in college.

Without Fairbridge I would probably be locked up in a young offenders institute as that’s where most of the people I was hanging around with are now. I think Fairbridge is a really good organisation. You can get a lot from it, it’s kind of like the best bits of social services, school and youth clubs all put together, without the bad bits.

I’ve definitely grown up a lot over the last 12 months and have stopped getting into trouble. I’d like to say a big thank you to the staff at Fairbridge for helping me see what I was doing and for helping me to change. They have always trusted me and never judged me based on what others have said about me.