A pioneering national programme to help young people achieve their full potential has been launched by The Boys’ Brigade in partnership with the University of Bolton.

The ‘Your Future’ programme aims to raise the aspirations of young people in The Boys’ Brigade and support them in making decisions that will help them become who they want to be.

‘Your Future’ consists of two programmes, one for the Company age group (11-14 years) and one for Seniors (14-18 years), enabling young people to identify and develop their own skills, consider their future goals and dreams, as well as build self-confidence and independence.

The two organisations have worked together to develop the programmes and funding from the University of Bolton has enabled The Boys’ Brigade to print and distribute printed resources free of charge to support the 1,200 BB groups across the UK to deliver the programme.

A themed booklet for each age group, as well as activity sheets, resources and materials have been sent to groups and programmes have already begun across the country. These resources are supported by an online toolkit.

Rev Dez Johnston, President of The Boys’ Brigade, said: “It is fantastic to be able to partner with the University of Bolton to provide these brilliant resources to all of our groups. As an organisation our vision is that young people experience ‘life to the full’, and the ‘Your Future’ programmes are already being used across the country as our young people explore how they can maximise their potential.”

Matt, a BB leader, said: “We really appreciate the work done by The Boys’ Brigade and the University of Bolton to develop the ‘Your Future’ programmes. At an age where young people are figuring out who they want to be, it is great to be able to use these fantastic new resources to help them consider and plan their futures, learn new skills, and identify and build on their strengths.”

Josh, a young person whose group has been getting involved in the programme, said: “I’m really enjoying the activities that we are doing. They have helped me to think a lot more about what I want to do in the future, given me the chance to learn new skills and are lots of fun too!”

Baroness Helen Newlove, Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Bolton, said: “The University of Bolton is delighted to be joining forces with such a wonderful organisation as The Boys’ Brigade. It does fantastic and crucial work with young people to help them develop and realise their full potential and we are the University are so pleased to be able to help with this pioneering national programme which is already in place and helping young people across the whole of the country.”

The ‘Your Future’ programmes have been created to be run over four or five weeks within a term and the majority of them can take place in a group’s normal meeting space, with an optional activity within the programme to encourage young people to venture outdoors and be adventurous. There are also monthly competitions running for each age group including the Shelter and Balloon Chair Challenges.

Once a group has completed at least six activities in the programme they can apply for Certificates of Recognition which will be sent out for each young person. These can be added to their Record of Achievement or be presented to universities and future employers.

If you are a BB leader, you can find out more about running the ‘Your Future’ programmes at boys-brigade.org.uk/your-future

Check out some photos from the launch event held at 35th Liverpool on 8th November 2022…