Birrong Girls High School is a comprehensive, multicultural High School with close to 800 students. 94% of the students have language backgrounds other than English, representative of the diverse make up the community. Birrong is in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown in South-West Sydney.
The Leadership team at Birrong Girls High School expressed concern about Year 8 and 9 girls who were struggling with confidence issues and resilience, with minor disagreements often escalating to conflict, which would simmer under the surface for weeks at a time.
They had noticed that the girls had thrived in sport and during Year 8 Camp, and wanted an external program that would help the girls work together, set goals, build positive relationships, and develop agency.
Creating Chances’ Trailblazer program is powered by coaching psychology principles and a Human-Centred Design framework where young people push their limits through outdoor-adventure activities and develop campaigns and initiatives that address issues faced in their community in line with the Global Goals.
Under the guidance of Head Facilitators Matt Robinson and Halima Elsayed, 10 students from Birrong Girls High School joined this 10-week program at their school, which included a 3-day Adventure Camp with Outward Bound in the ACT.
Trailblazer supports young people in Years 7-10 to develop important life skills, overcome setbacks and find the confidence to pursue their dreams. Trailblazer programs are powered by coaching psychology principles and a Human-Centred Design framework where young people engage in a challenging outdoor-adventure based experience. The activities are outdoor-adventure based alongside developing campaigns and initiatives that address issues faced in their community in line with Global Social Development Goals.
Most noticeably, it was clear that students felt a sense of belonging from exploring their connection to culture and having it celebrated in their school community, which positively affected their contributions within that community.
It is recognised by school leadership that the Pacific Waves program has been instrumental in school completion as well as their attitude towards themselves, their school, and their community as demonstrated by Harmony:
“The two most important things I learned were, firstly, the value of connecting to your culture, and how it relates to all aspects of life. Secondly, that it’s okay to be Pacific Islanders not to be ashamed of who we are… It feels like I belong exactly where I am.”
Our most recent results from the University of NSW M&E team measured the impact of Trailblazer program.
Measurable outcomes showed that over 20 weeks, Trailblazer programs improve participants’ confidence by 45.8%, strengthening their ability to cope with unexpected or difficult situations. Similarly, resilience amongst participants grew from 52.9% to 68.8%.
At Creating Chances, we connect ideas, inspire growth, and empower young people to build confidence, resilience, and optimism for a brighter future.
