3.1.2 Reading

Read the article about young people who have participated in a youth leadership project. For questions 1-10, choose from the opinions of the participants (A-D).  (10 marks)

A Spending two weeks of my summer holidays at a youth leadership academy wasn't high on my wish list of activities at the end of the term; I felt too old for that! That said, right from the very first day, the program exceeded all expectations! The time flew by and I was sad to leave. Without a doubt, the best thing was meeting people from all over the country, exchanging ideas and learning new ways of doing things. Constantly working as a team meant that it was difficult at times and there were more than a few arguments between different members of the group. It showed us that we have to get on with each other and make the best of each other's skills; after all, we can't just walk out of a job after an argument! Before taking part in the programme, I'd felt reasonably confident about starting work after I graduate, but now I realise just how far I have to go before I am really ready for the workplace. So, this term I'm going to join the events committee at school to help out with the student-led events that take place throughout the year. 

B Towards the end of the last term I'd been feeling the pressure of university applications and was concerned that I hadn't been as involved in extra-curricular activities as I should have been. Nowadays, it's not enough to have an outstanding academic record. A lot of universities want you to demonstrate other skills as well, not to mention the fact that these are required for the world of work, too. I was looking forward to the youth academy programme when I signed up for it, but after a couple of days I was already wishing that hadn't done it. The tasks that we were given were supposed to equip us with real-life skills, but they were all intentionally prepared to appeal to people in my age group. Unfortunately, this just had the opposite effect as it felt like the organisers were trying too hard to please us, at the same time being completely out of touch with people my age. Everyone in my group was on the same wavelength as me; we wanted to work seriously and be challenged by something that we might encounter in the future. To be perfectly honest, I came away feeling disappointed and cheated. 

C I only signed up for the youth leadership academy programme because my parents thought it would be beneficial as something that I could add to my CV, especially because my cousin, who's two years older than me, did it once and it helped her to get her first job. They didn't push me into it, but they strongly recommended it! The programme itself was nothing special; the highlights were getting the chance to improve my coding skills, which I had wanted to do for a while, and the mountaineering team challenge was great fun. Apart from that, the biggest impact that the experience had on me was the people that I met. Each participant gets a mentor who is someone that took part in the programme the year before; coincidentally, my mentor had been mentored by my cousin! We got on really well right from the start and, since the program finished, we've kept in touch. In fact, the three of us have been messaging each other non-stop about a youth academy app, to help young people develop the kinds of skills that the programme practises, but without all the costly price! 

D Attending a youth leadership summer programme is something everyone does at my college; there are two major universities in our city so there's always a little bit of rivalry amongst students as to which one is the best, according to the one you choose to go to. After looking forward to the programme all year, I was thrilled that it didn't disappoint — in fact, I'd probably say that it was much more than I had expected! It was very full-on as the schedule was packed; every day we were there for eight hours, with at least three different sessions per day. The first few days were less flexible as we did a variety of experiential-based lessons to develop different leadership skills, such as interpersonal communication and ethics. Then towards the end of the week we moved onto a group action project, which I preferred because it meant that we could be in the driving seat! At the end of the week, we presented our projects during a day-long event that was sponsored by various companies. 

Which person: 

1. has kept in contact with the other participants?

2. found the experience frustrating?

3. enjoyed being given some control?

4. mentions developing skills directly related to working life?

5. felt the need to make some plans after the leadership academy?

6. feels that the activities were inappropriate for the age group?

7. gives specific details about the course's program?

8. says that the other participants shared with him a very serious approach to the summer course?

9. makes a comparison between the program and everyday life?

10. is unenthusiastic about the course content?