Alyvia’s story

Whether it’s building relationship skills, improving self-esteem or learning to stay focused – Dame Kelly Holmes Trust programmes and Athlete Mentors are there to help the next generation move forward with confidence.

For Alyvia, a 12-year-old at King Ethelbert School in Kent our Enhanced On Track to Achieve (OTTA) programme, funded by the Lawson Trust, with athlete mentor Claire Bennett represented a shift in resilience, trying out new sports and increased confidence. The programme features one-to-one mentoring as well as our standard OTTA group sessions, offering young people the opportunity to go into greater depth with our athlete mentors on their own personal development plans, teamed with the essential teamwork and collaboration of the group sessions.

By putting a Champion shoulder to shoulder with young people, it’s incredible at what can be achieved. The group of 20 young people at King Ethelbert, worked with Claire, a former Commonwealth Gold medallist fencer over the course of the academic year.

The confidence to try out new things was a game-changer for Alyvia

With the many pressures faced by young people today, confidence can really take a hit. Our programmes are designed to boost four key outcomes: resilience, self-esteem, confidence and wellbeing.

Across schools in the UK, lack of confidence is a real challenge among young people. In a recent Trust survey showed that 51% of young people said that a lack of confidence is holding them back from doing the things they want to do, with 75% saying feeling confident would help them better deal with setbacks. At the start of the programme, Alyvia said: “I’ve always really struggled with my confidence, plus my anxiety which meant my attendance at school was low and I wouldn’t really get involved in class discussions or anything like that.”

Over the course of the On Track to Achieve programme, Alyvia started to come of her shell and the tips and techniques taught by Claire meant that Alyvia started to make new friends. “The programme encouraged me to meet new people and make new friends and that was super exciting,” explained Alyvia.

Alyvia with Athlete Mentor, Claire Bennett

Another important element of Dame Kelly Holmes Trust programmes is helping young people to understand the link between physical activity and positive mental and physical wellbeing. Our most recent Impact Report shows that 69% of male students increased their physical activity levels, with a 70% increase in female students.

For Alyvia, a trip to Manston Airport a local business which has opened its doors to On Track to Achieve participants from across Kent to give them insight into the world of work in their local area, where the group got to experience a fun-filled day with lots of activities, including a ride on a World War II tank was a catalyst of trying a new sport. Amongst the many activities, the young people got to try archery, something Alyvia has never done before. “Following the trip to Manston Airport, I want to sign up to the Archery club and to take part in more sport – it really inspired me.”

Speaking to Claire about Alyvia and the group she mentored at King Ethelbert, she said: “I am so proud of all of the students who took part in the programme, they showed up with courage and curiosity, they were engaged, committed, they made the most of the opportunity and have all grown in confidence. I have no doubt that they will continue to build on their skills and have huge success in their lives beyond school.”

The last word is left for Alyvia: “The programme is something I’ll never forget, I’ve made new friends, I’m talking and communicating better and have found more confidence and self-esteem. Working with Claire was great, she really helped me to never give up on my goals and to keep going no matter what.”

The On Track to Achieve programme was funded by the Lawson Trust. The team at Manston Airport kindly offered their time and facilities to the group.