This week Game Changers focused on career management with Deutsche Bank volunteers getting involved in a mock interview process before taking to the rugby field in the afternoon to assist with the rugby coaching.
The kids looked at the importance of communication and body language during an interview whilst learning simple but equally important traits such as shaking hands and introducing yourselves at the start of a job interview.
Activate Sports representative Dan Gillespie said: “We had three Apprentice style interview tables set up with the Deutsche Bank volunteers as the interviewees.
“The boys had to present themselves in a mock interview for jobs they could apply for either after school or in sixth form, when they could work part-time.
“They did really well and performed admirably.
“The Deutsche Bank volunteers enjoyed themselves and it’s great for kids to have access to adults who are not their parents or schoolteachers.
“I know the Deutsche Bank volunteers have been taken a back at times by the kids’ backgrounds but they were really impressed in the way they were conducting themselves.”
He added: “The volunteers were fully immersed in the process and having them here is of great value to Game Changers.”
Sunshine once again greeted the group at this afternoon’s rugby session with Deutsche Bank volunteers assisting the specialist coaches during the session.
After three weeks together, Gillespie feels the group of 25 boys from across the area are settling in well on and off the park.
“The kids are socialising out with their school group which is great,” he said.
“They are a lot more comfortable with the teammates around them.
“On the field they are coming together and somehow we have managed to get players with the right skill set for each position. It has worked out really well.”
Game Changers is a joint Deutsche Bank and London Scottish community-focused programme which combines education and rugby to make a real impact on young people's lives.
2014 is the second year of this initiative and over an eight-week period, 25 students most at risk of exclusion from school will use rugby as a vehicle to drive behavioural change through a comprehensive sports education programme.
Game Changers is part of Born to Be – the Deutsche Bank youth engagement programme which supports realising young people's potential, improving their academic achievement and raising their aspirations.
