Our Future Leaders Programme
Our approach is unique and tailored to each young person we work with. We employ a bespoke non-directive coaching model that provides:
Consistent Long-Term Support helps young people to gain clarity on their aspirations.
Targeted Skills-Based Support with collaborative social action projects and subject-specific courses, students discover their passions and potential.
Expanding Horizons with university and career insight days, helping young people to explore a world of possibilities.
Empowerment with Future Leaders building new connections and growing their social networks, ensuring no one is left behind on their journey to success.
Future Leaders: three core components
Coaching
Our expert Progression Coaches are based locally and have trusted relationships with schools and colleges.
- Young people are in control, with their passions and values at the heart of every coaching conversation.
- We guide young people to plan routes to achieving their future goals.
- We support young people to identify and overcome barriers to success.
“The Villiers Park Programme made a real difference to the choices I made. My Coach, Dan, talked me through the different options and then helped me apply for my apprenticeship, as well as giving me tips on how to communicate and how to stand out. I was able to talk about the things I’d done with Villiers Park during my interviews.”
Leadership Challenge
Designed and led by Future Leaders themselves, the Leadership Challenge enables young people to explore and develop their interests.
- Leadership Challenge projects take positive social action and empower young people to be change-makers in their school or local community.
- Young people develop a range of skills including planning and organisation, research, communications and confidence.
- We collaborate with a range of partners on Leadership Challenge including the Institute of Research in Schools (IRIS), National Literacy Trust and Trinity College Cambridge.
Subject and Skills Courses
Future Leaders can access online courses created and facilitated by experts in their field. Alongside this, we offer an extensive catalogue of self-directed courses through Launchpad, our online learning platform.
- Young people can explore many different career options.
- Develop leadership, academic study, public speaking and critical thinking skills
- Offering the chance to study a subject in a university-style setting.
“All the speakers were very informative and made me think about climate change and biodiversity in a different way. At first I was a bit sceptical about doing a presentation, but it was actually very interesting to conduct my own research, listen to what other people had discovered and understand what other people find important to them."
Other Elements of the Programme
Future Leaders at the University of Bath Residential 2023
Residentials
These nights spent away from home give Future Leaders the opportunity to experience university life and an insight into academic study, making university feel like a realistic and achievable goal.
Employer and University Visits
Future Leaders have the opportunity to visit employers and universities for the day where they learn about different careers and courses and 'try on' different possible selves.
Early Entry Programme
We offer tailored support for Future Leaders applying for highly competitive courses in Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, Dentistry and Oxbridge.
Possible Selves Theory
Possible selves theory, developed by Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius (1986), describes the importance and dynamics of self-relevant, future-orientated self-concepts and how these self-views relate to motivation for present and future action.
Our ideal selves motivate us to create goals and to work to achieve those goals. If we create a narrow spectrum of what we believe, we can become stuck in those possible selves unable to grow beyond them.
Young people from under-represented backgrounds may often have less opportunity to experience and explore a range of possible selves. Our Villiers Park Future Leaders Programme is designed to enable students to engage with a wide range of experiences and opportunities and thus widen their range of possible selves.
“Whenever we as young people feel inadequate, or like we don't fit in, we shouldn't strive to fit in, but we should strive to embrace our differences."
We had a wonderful time welcoming Future Leaders, their families and Villiers Park supporters to celebrate together.
