The 11th Dorset Leadership Academy took place at Bryanston School on Tuesday 17th October, 35 schools and over 500 young people from across Dorset attended participating in one of the six leadership strands. The Leadership Academy provides support and development for young leaders and volunteers who would like to be actively involved within their school or community.

The event today is part of the wider leadership, coaching and volunteering programme running in Dorset, which provides suitable pathways for children and young people to learn, enrich and extend their leadership skills, and support them in the deployment through a wide range of opportunities. The programme offers training and deployment opportunities to over 2,000 children and young people each year within Dorset. When young leaders feel heard and supported, we know that they can be innovative and that their strong leadership skills can help to motivate and inspire others in their own authentic way.

The day started with an inspirational keynote from Kate Ager and speeches from our young event hosts for the day, Charlie from the Sir John Colfox Academy and Emily from Twynham School. Our athlete mentors Kate Ager, Bradley Currie and Jon Pearce spent time supporting the young leaders and visiting workshops throughout the day.

The delivery of the Leadership Academy would not be possible without the support of several trusted partners. We would like to thank Bryanston School for allowing us to use their fantastic facilities and to the staff from Bryanston who support the day. Thanks also to Bournemouth University, Weymouth College, and Rockley Watersports for their continued support, and to the teachers, coaches, tutors, and athlete mentors who were so generous in sharing their time and expertise to lead the various workshops. On the day, students from Weymouth College, Rockley College, and the Coach BU
expertly supported Young Leader and Young Ambassador workshops.