Inspiration Programme: Eric’s Story

The following case study demonstrates the impact of the Inspiration Programme on the lives of local young people:

Eric is 16 years old and studying for a Level 1 Diploma in Sports at Aylesbury College. At the start of the Inspiration Programme he was already a confident individual but was unsure about what he wanted to do in the future and felt there were limited options open to him.

Inspiration Programme facilitator, Simeon Aikman says “When I first met Eric he was a bright individual but could sometimes be outspoken and inflexible in his opinions. He could also be disruptive in group sessions and did not engage well. Throughout the Inspiration Programme, I’ve seen Eric develop and broaden his perspective on life. He still has strong opinions but is much more open-minded in his approach and more willing to listen to others and engage with authority figures. He has been an excellent participant on the programme and I’m proud of the progress he has made.”

Eric particularly enjoyed the practical nature of the Inspiration Programme whereby he gained hands-on experience of different sectors of society through a variety of trips. His favourite trip was to Waddesdon Manor as part of the Arts & Culture pillar of the course – somewhere he had never considered visiting before. Eric says: “I really liked it because everything was really different, I’d never been somewhere like that before and I really liked the diamonds – it made me want to be that rich!”

Eric also found the trips on the Police and Criminal Justice pillar enlightening. A visit to the police riot training centre stuck in his mind, he recalls: “I never knew what kind of training they did, I didn’t know how much was involved, the animals, crowd management, tasers – it’s crazy. They’re so committed and they practice, practice every day – I guess if they get things wrong it would be bad for everybody. I was impressed by their teamwork and communication skills – they have to keep repeating warnings and making sure everyone knows what’s going on.”

As part of this pillar he also visited a local prison and spoke to an ex-prisoner which had an impact on him: “He (the ex-prisoner) talked about his life and how his family were criminals and so in a way he had no choice, it made me think how some people can’t break out of the path set for them. He seemed like such a normal, nice guy but I think prison changed him and made him want to be better.”

Eric also visited a local fire station as part of the Health & Well-Being pillar where he learned a lot about fire safety: “I never knew a laptop could catch fire if you leave it on a bed and I didn’t know how oil and water could flame up – it really made me think about it. The training they do is hard work especially all the practice with the hoses and climbing up towers. We did a good team exercise there using walkie-talkies to send instructions to each other to build Lego models – it was good for learning team skills.”

In the Business pillar of the course Eric found practising interview skills helpful as it made him consider things he had never thought of before: “A lot of the stuff we learned was common sense but still it helps to think about how you sit, how you dress and how you talk. I’d never really thought about researching companies before you go for an interview so that was really useful.”

At the end of the Inspiration Programme, Eric has learned more about the opportunities open to him in life and he wants to go into Higher Education and study physiotherapy. He feels the communications skills he has learned on the Inspiration Programme will help him achieve this. Eric has built his knowledge of how society works and has changed some of his opinions and outlook on life as a result of the experiences he has had and the people he has met. He says:

“I’d recommend the Inspiration Programme to others as it could really help them, I guess I’m more open-minded now. What I liked about the course was that it was time to think about life from a different aspect.”