WEEK TWELVE
SIR JAMES SMITH'S SCHOOL
Porthkerris in Cornwall
"Thank you for a wonderful experience. Our headteacher has been extremely pleased with the reaction the pupils have given over the past week. Colleagues have asked how it went and my simple response each time has been “It’s the highlight of my career, to see pupils encounter and overcome challenges they thought wouldn’t be possible”.
Thank you for providing this opportunity to young people within our community."
“Ineffable”.
Simply the only word that can be used to sum-up the week our pupils have just experienced. Having just completed the ‘experience’ phase of Dive Project Cornwall, our pupils have returned absolutely beaming about their week at Porthkerris.
From the moment we arrived, the school staff and pupils were put at ease by the professional approach from Andy and the DPC team. During the week our pupils experienced challenges they have never faced. Using teamwork, communication and intra-personal skills, every single student overcame these barriers and all left as Ocean Influencers.
It has been a highlight of my nearly 20-year career to see pupils develop in the way that they have this past week. Back at school, a number of teachers have commented on how polite, courteous and mature the students have been in lessons. Speaking to the pupils, they have highlighted this trip as not only their best experience of school to date, but one of the highlights of their life!
Life-skills/ soft-skills that pupils will have developed by taking part in the project:
-
Time management and prioritisation skills, whilst competing the e-learning prior to arrival.
-
Independence/ intro-personal skills when setting up kit, looking after kit, packing kit away, organising themselves, eating, washing, cleaning etc.
-
Team work/ inter-personal skills in the water (carrying out buddy checks & supporting one another in the water) and on land (orienteering, poster creation & evening games)
-
Communication skills in the water (signals) and on land (listening, talking, discussing)
-
Problem-solving skills by overcoming barriers/ challenges and issues encountered in real-time moments.
Each of these skills are crucial for every-day life but especially important in the work place. As we prepare our young people for future careers (many of which still haven’t even been thought of yet), it is essential that we develop these essential skills so that they can become economically active members of our community.
Thank you to the dive team, site team, Porthkerris Dive Centre and all volunteers who have helped to bring this project together for our young people. We look forward to working with you again in the future.
Ed Mcguffie
Assistant Head, Sir James Smith's School
PHOTOS FROM WEEK 12 - SIR JAMES SMITH'S SCHOOL
