Confidence and self-belief are key to fulfilling potential
The key benefits Reachers take away from their expedition...
Operation Reach places great value on the empowering effect of overseas travel, and considers it to be a life-altering form of learning.
“Outdoor environment simplifies as it inspires. Novel physical settings require new ways of thinking and acting. Physical remoteness emphasises interdependence and self-reliance. Unplugging from connected lifestyles promotes focus and perspective.”
The Outward Bound Trust
“Being thrown into a completely different culture and society… you just have to adjust to it.”
Inaugural Reacher, Emily
“India gave me the confidence to be more ambitious with my applications for university because in India we had to be more independent and we had more responsibilities.”
Stef, Inaugural Reacher
The impact of all expeditions in 2022 will also be assessed by the Operation Reach team in terms of academic achievements, university destinations and work opportunities. Reachers’ journeys do not end when they return from the expeditions. They will be supported through an 18-month mentoring programme focussing on academic studies, university applications and work opportunities.
Schools have long focused their attention towards ensuring children’s core academic progress, but skills acquired outside the classroom are now increasingly recognised as fundamental for children’s development and life opportunities.
Research by The Sutton Trust has found that essential life skills such as confidence, motivation, resilience and communication are associated with better academic outcomes and improved prospects in the workplace, with 94% of employers citing life skills as equally important as academic results.
Extra-curricular activities and learning outside the classroom contribute to the development of these skills, but there are substantial socio-economic gaps in access to these opportunities, with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds less likely to take up activities than their better off peers (46% compared to 66%) putting them at a disadvantage both academically and in the workplace (Sutton Trust, 2017).
Unequal access to life skills is a key motivation for establishing Operation Reach — providing young people from disadvantaged backgrounds greater opportunity to develop these skills, propelling them forward to reach their full potential.
What did Reachers take away from their experience?
75% of Inaugural Reachers are now studying at Russell Group universities.
2 Reachers received placements at Oxbridge universities.
Charles Montier in collaboration with Rewilding Education is spearheading the impact research project for all expeditions in 2022.
The research report will focus on each individual’s growth in terms of ambitions, confidence and wellbeing.
View Charles’s profile on our meet the team page.
This video was created and produced by the Inaugural Reachers
Resilience
— helps build young people’s ability to cope with adversity and work through problems which life will present
Experience
— life, the more life experience gained, the better equipped young people are to engage in wider society
Adventure
— positivity and aspiration to join competitive, rewarding opportunities
Culture
— exposure to culture and new situations is paramount to a young person’s ongoing success
High achievement
— facilitating young people to gain above the national average qualifications for their socio-economic background
“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
Shannon L. Alder
