Blaze of glory as Rugby youngsters celebrate Firebreak success
Young people from Rugby will face a blaze of glory as they celebrate successfully passing an action-packed course called ‘Firebreak’ on Thursday 7 December.
The youngsters, aged 14 to 16, will be attending a passing out parade to mark their achievement of completing the ten-week ‘Firebreak’ course, which is run by Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service. The event will take place at Rugby fire station on Thursday 7 December at 1pm and will be attended by the Mayor and Consort of Rugby, and Mayor and Consort of Warwick.
‘Firebreak’ is an extremely successful youth education programme, which is run by firefighters from the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and its Youth Development Department. The courses are designed specifically for young people aged 13 to 16 who could benefit from a learning experience in a work-based environment, outside of school.
During the ten-week course, the students took part in a wide range of action-packed activities including orienteering, fire safety drills, abseiling, team building, driver safety and first aid training.
Cheryl Jones, Youth Development Manager for Community Protection at Warwickshire County Council, said: “We are very proud of all of the students who have completed the course. Everyone attending always gave 110% to the activities they were involved in. The young people showed real determination to succeed their targets and by completing the course they have shown that hard work and determination really does pay off!“
Referrals and funding for this ‘Firebreak’ course have come Aylesford School and Re@ctiv8 (Warwickshire County Council 14 to 19 Development Section).
An essential element of the ‘Firebreak’ programme is that it is delivered to establish in young people some fundamental Fire Service principles: discipline, leadership and teamwork. All course participants are treated as Fire Service employees, the goal being to stimulate self-confidence and a sense of community ownership and responsibility. Participants are additionally encouraged to develop a sense of pride and diligence in their approach to work and to gain greater self-esteem.
During the passing out parade, the students will give a demonstration of their work, followed by an inspection from Councillors and teachers. Those attending will then be presented with a Record of Achievement.
The Youth Development Department staff would like to extend their thanks to Michelle Buxton from Aylesford School and to Christine Grafton and Linda Gould from Re@ctiv8 for funding and supporting the course.