LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Columba 1400, based on Skye in Scotland, is a social enterprise

dedicated to leadership development. Head Alex Wood reports on a trip made by 13 of his students

I

N DECEMBER, after a rigorous selection and preparation process, 13 students, two teachers and the school librarian from Wester Hailes Education Centre in Edinburgh spent a week at Staffin on Skye, the base of Columba 1400, a social enterprise devoted to leadership development and to releasing the potential

of young people who have weathered tough times. Its core values are awareness, focus, creativity, integrity, perseverance, and service. After a long, weary journey, our group arrived at

Staffin at 7pm on the Sunday. After a warm welcome and food, the group worked in pairs on their goals for the week. The welcome, the food and the accommodation were not incidentals. The commitment which a week at Columba requires would be impossible without the caring security which Columba’s attention to domestic detail supports. The next morning’s activity practising focus was

followed by a walk on the Trotternish Peninsula. Emerging from the woods, crossing the almost lunar landscape, the group saw the Old Man of Storr, a volcanic plug around which the softer rocks have been eroded, looming out of the mist. The Skye landscape and its absolute contrast to what the young people know focused them on what was an entirely new and inspiring environment and provided the core for reflection that evening. The Tuesday script was that Columba was the

standby if the local mountain rescue team was unavailable. The locals were indeed “unavailable”. There was “a casualty” on the hills. The group was given maps to find the scene. The line of beaters

Journey of discovery

covered the countryside, and eventually found their casualty. They made their own stretcher and rescued the casualty. Different youngsters took different leadership roles. Some avoided involvement. The evening’s review was not easy. Teamwork had been learned the hard way. The abstainers had to reconcile their behaviour and attitudes with their peers. Wednesday started with discussion but the active

work was fun and adventure in canoes. Supervised by trained outdoor education staff and observed by the Columba staff, teams had to lash canoes together and find a treasure bag on Loch Mealt. Again the process did not go easily as individuals came to the fore, not always creatively or co-operatively. A frank and honest review of the day followed. Issues were aired and apologies offered without blame. In the early evening tension was released when each individual hand- painted a mug with symbols of their personal values, a keepsake and a reinforcement. On Thursday, the group was split in two, each team

working on a presentation on how to improve Cnoc, a fictional island facing economic, ecological and social problems. Both groups presented to a panel which fed back on the quality of the problem-solving, the teamwork, the presentation skills and the application of

the Columban principles. That evening dinner was semi- formal, served professionally in beautiful surroundings. The atmosphere was that of a large family, the

culmination of the week’s collective activity. After dinner the group visited the Columba Garden, an extraordinary and minimalist labyrinth, recently constructed in stone, pebbles, wood and plants, each section representing one of the Columban values. Perhaps it was the garden, perhaps the emptiness of

the northern sky, but according to one of our students, an urban Scots teenager not given to emotional outpourings: “You looked in to the sky, it was dark and quiet and amazing and you saw the stars different from what you usually saw them. Walking round with a torch and seeing the words on the stones was so emotional. It made people think about themselves and their families, the issues they had gone through, but also the happiness in their lives.” On Friday, the last day, the participants summed

up their week and described the salient attributes of each of their peers. At the graduation, the hopes for the week were reviewed and each participant heard of their strengths and growth before they stated how they had individually valued the experience. One lad said: “I was speechless, it showed we could

Life-affirming: The Wester Hailes students during their visit to Skye

work as a team, could achieve anything if we put effort into it. It was great that school staff treated students like ‘normal people’ and we treated them ‘like one of us’. Columba 1400 gave me a lot of confidence and it helped me gain trust with people I didn’t trust before.” Another boy summed it up: “I found the experience

life-changing, absolutely amazing.” The impact of Columba was as powerful on our

staff as on our students. One of our teachers summed up the experience: “Columba 1400 gave me time, space and peace to revaluate what is important to me in life. There is not a lot of time in our hectic world to focus on yourself, Columba gives you the opportunity to be reflective. My time there made me think about looking after, respecting and valuing all the people who are in my life, to be generous with my time for the important things. Also to spend time with people who help to develop and bring out the best in me. “Columba 1400 provides the perfect environment to

let people grow and develop to their best. It highlights how pulling on the collective strengths of a team helps you to achieve tasks you might have thought individually were unachievable. You are honoured and humbled to be part of someone else’s life-affirming experiences.” Our hope is that these students and staff will

have brought back to school the attitudes and values and potential which were brought to the surface on Skye.

SecEd

• Alex Wood is headteacher at Wester Hailes Education Centre in Edinburgh.

Further information

www.columba1400.com

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