9 students from The Bay CE School in Sandown recently enjoyed a VIP trip to Portsmouth, including a 2-hour tour of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and a visit to Henry VIII’s flagship The Mary Rose.
The 15-year-olds in Year 11 walked on the massive flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth and tried their hands at using firefighting equipment and carried out a number of other challenges. They also spoke to crew members about the varying careers available within the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
At the Mary Rose Museum in the Historic Dockyard, volunteers gave the group a fascinating insight into the history of the ship and its sinking off Southsea in 1545. Students were able to compare the sizes of the 2 vessels and the roles of each one.
Senior Youth Workers and School Leaders accompanied the visit, arranged through Community Action Isle of Wight’s Bay Youth Project (BYP) partnership with the Royal Navy Attract team. Attract regularly delivers leadership courses to schools and community groups on the Island.
Ferry company Wightlink supported the organisers with cross-Solent travel.
Julian Wadsworth, Community Resilience Coordinator for the Bay area and Youth Intervention Development Officer at Community Action Isle of Wight, says:
“We are extremely grateful to the Royal Navy and Mary Rose Museum for such a unique experience and to Wightlink for supporting us with travel. All of the young people are interested in careers in the military or public service and five of them told us they’re now keen to join the Royal Navy”.
Headteacher Emma Bowden adds:
“The students had a fantastic opportunity and every one of them took something positive away from the day. On behalf of the students and The Bay we would like to thank Julian at Community Action Isle of Wight for liaising and organising such an amazing trip, alongside Wightlink, the Royal Navy and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.”
Lucky kids! But why only nine of them?! The contrast between 16th- and 21st-century warships must have been both eye- and mind-opening!