Clyde Marine Training have been proud to be part of the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation Buoyed Up initiative since 2015, which aims to raise the aspirations of primary school children living in areas that have been recognised as suffering from deprivation, by introducing them to sailing and enterprise through workshops run in schools by partners such as ourselves.
In past years we have welcomed children from local primary schools to our head office in Glasgow, but this month saw training officers Philip McAllister and Joanna Gillan visit Hazelmere Junior School in Colchester & Sir Martin Frobisher Academy in Clacton-on-Sea, both Essex.
Philip and Joanna presented to the children on what a life in the Merchant Navy entails, followed by questions from both children and teachers. They then had the children split into smaller groups to build their own boats, allowing them to explore the best designs for buoyancy and cooperate as part of a team.
Commenting on the day, Training Officer Joanna Gillan remarked: “This was my first experience of being involved in a Buoyed Up event, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The children seemed to really enjoy themselves to and were remarkably engaged in what we had to tell them, asking us many questions and displaying fantastic knowledge.
“As a team who are looking to engage the next generation of seafarers it was a really rewarding experience and it was a pleasure to work with the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation in delivering such a worthwhile programme.”
To find out more about the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation and it’s work, please visit: http://www.sirthomasliptonfoundation.org/index.htm