Schools Engagement Programme

SCHOOLS ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME

We work with 8 schools in the area with each school having a Rotarian as a nominated School Liaison Executive (SLE). The SLE works closely with and meets regularly with a school contact to understand the school’s requirement and how best we can help them. We believe that building a strong and effective relationship is essential in being able to make a real and valuable contribution.

Rotary Youth Speaks: A Debate

On Tuesday 14th January 2025, five student teams spoke for and against proposals at the 'Youth Speaks: A Debate', competition organised at Newlands School by the Rotary Club of Maidenhead.

The young people debated on topics from the dangers of Peppa Pig, the irrelevance of school uniform and the use of emojis, to the age for smart phones and the villain in the film ‘Mean Girls.’

Winners in the intermediate section, Jess Clutterbuck, Alicia Delacour and Alyssia Clark, exploring the influence of Peppa Pig, were praised by the judges for engaging and entertaining the audience of parents and students. While the winners of the senior section, Srilakshmi Seshadri, Nataniah Bhatti, Zahrah Choudary, were applauded for explaining the intricacies of ‘Mean Girls,’ and proposing the meanest, with such clarity and enthusiasm.

The judges emphasised the courage of all the contestants in speaking so well in public and were very impressed by the detail and research in their speeches.

Rotarian Tony Hill thanked the staff of the school for providing and organising the five teams and a venue, and for their wholehearted encouragement of public speaking. The president of Maidenhead Rotary, Matthew Burdett, thanked those who had helped, the judges, the timekeepers, and staff, and outlined the services and opportunities open to young people through Rotary, including the Rotaract organisation.

The two winning teams, from Newlands, now qualify to take part in the Rotary District 1090 final, on 6th March at The Oakwood Centre in Woodley – to their credit, the second year in a row that Newlands School teams have made it to the District Finals.

Senior winning team: Srilakshmi Seshadri, Nataniah Bhatti, Zahrah Choudary.

Intermediate winning team: Jess Clutterbuck, Alicia Delacour, Alyssia Clark.

Intermediate team participants: Amy Cheeseman, Hannah Short, Elena Clark; Aditi Kesava, Swetha Magesh, Sabeeha Shahzad; Annum Zaheer, Manahil Zeeshan and Zoe Porter.

Newlands senior winners

Newlands intermediate winners with club president Matthew Burdett

Rotarians provide vital interview experience

About 60 sixth-formers have been given invaluable interview experience as part of Maidenhead Rotary Club’s ongoing Schools Engagement programme.

Over two days, Rotarians took part in online one-to-one ‘mock’ interviews with students from Claires Court and Altwood Schools, who were about to begin applying to university or for their first job. Each interview took about 20 minutes and included immediate feedback.

The programme also included presentations from Rotarian Malcolm Falconer, a former HR director, on creating a memorable interview and what to expect when starting your first job. Key learning points were ‘Don’t turn down an invitation to lunch on your first day’ and ‘You only get one opportunity to make a first impression - don’t waste it’.

Malcolm said: “This is another example of where our Schools Engagement Programme supports local schools in preparing their students for the real world. I have seen many students turn up for interview with absolutely no idea and woefully under prepared, so hopefully we have done something to give them a better than average chance.”

Originally planned as face-to-face interviews, the sessions were moved online due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Gary Hope from Claires Court Sixth Form said: “It would’ve been so very easy to cancel during these times but instead your tenacity shone through and our students truly valued your time and experience. A massive thank-you from us all.”

A spokesman for Altwood School added: “Our students really benefited from the one-to-one mock interviews helping them to prepare for the world beyond school. It was an extremely successful event.”

Alongside Malcolm the Rotarians taking part were Eddie Clarke, Sean Egan, Tony Hill, Martin Trepte, Mary Spinks, Gurdial Singh and Maria Scavetta.

Eddie Clarke, the club’s schools liaison with Altwood, said: “This is a great way of helping our secondary schools.”