George Green Schools and The Minton Charitable Trust

At UKSA we are so much more than education; we focus on the growth and development of young people. Our aim is to remove barriers, both financial and social, to enable any young person from any background to achieve their very personal best and gain life enhancing experiences, qualifications, and employment. We know that many children and young people are missing out on life changing opportunities because schools, local authorities and parents simply cannot afford to pay for them. Our aim is to remove both financial and social barriers to enable young people from any background to benefit from a residential trip at UKSA.

In 2018 we set up a new fund ‘Leave no Child Behind’ to support our schools’ beneficiaries. This fund was created on the realisation that some schools who book residential trips to UKSA, very sadly leave some children behind in the classroom, simply because their parents are unable to afford the cost of the trip; it is often the case that this cohort in particular would benefit from an experience at UKSA.

In 2021, despite the challenges of COVID, we welcomed a total of 216 children who were funded from the Leave no Child Behind Fund to the total value of £55,328 donated by ten funders.

The Minton Charitable Trust provided £10,850 to George Green School from the Isle of Dogs, London. The school has a pupil premium rate of 72% compared to 27% nationally. The donation fully funded all 35 year 8 pupils from George Green School for a three-night, four-day residential adventure on the water at UKSA.

Our bespoke programmes are design to build confidence and encourage teamworking using watersports and the great outdoors as a catalyst for positive outcomes. It was incredible to see the children’s confidence build during their time at UKSA, and we hope this will be the start of a journey into a career at sea from some of these young people.

We asked the children to tell us what they learnt during their time at UKSA and received some really positive feedback:

“I learnt valuable life skills like how to steer a ship.”

“I think that this experience has helped my teamwork from the activities.”

“Now I am determined to get better at sailing.”

“I learned that I am more confident than I think.”

“That I have skills to help others and have fun.”

“That I can do more stuff if I try harder.”

“I feel more confident in making decisions for myself.”

“ I can work better in teams than when I am by myself.”

And finally, a glowing endorsement from Jane Sullivan, Enrichment Manager at George Green, who helped us organise the trip: “Our last trip in October has taken on almost legendary qualities with the Year 8s who had such a brilliant time!”

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