Xplore's very own action man!

Neil Marchant is Xplore’s very own Action Man!  
We could listen to his stories all day long but here is just a snap shot of his 29 years of service in the British Royal Air Force and why he is now an asset to the Xplore team…

‘At 17 years old, I joined HM Forces for excitement and adventure, to travel, be challenged and make new friends.  Looking back on 29 years service in the RAF Regiment I achieved them all and more.

During my career I visited some beautiful places and had some brilliant postings, living in Germany and Cyprus twice. I was lucky to go on some fantastic detachments and exercises - from Arctic Warfare Training in Northern Norway to the dusty planes of Kenya, where in addition to our military training we worked at a local orphanage installing fresh water showers and playing with the children. I visited countries I never would have dreamed of visiting; an exchange with the Royal Australian Air Force is up there with the best. I went on Operational Tours to Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

I pursued my passion for rugby and even played for the RAF with some great and talented rugby players and toured, playing at some impressive grounds. I had the opportunity to compete in half marathons and triathlons.

I organised and participated in some fantastic worldwide expeditions from white water rafting the Rio Grande Gorge in New Mexico, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef and skiing in California and Colorado.  They were all challenging and exciting in their own way.

I was part of some things that I was so proud of including:

SIREN SONG: I organised and took 28 wives of serving military personnel for a 24 hour period into the mountains in Cyprus on a survival and fun exercise, pulling together various agencies, and bringing everyone back home safely; it was just fantastic. But the best part for me was that all those overseas wives made new friends.

BATTLEBACK - before my own injury, I achieved my dream to become an Alpine Ski Instructor and volunteered to instruct a group of wounded soldiers, sailors and airman from Headley Court. Teaching single, double and triple amputees to ski was just immense and I’ll never forget it.  The guy I had, with all his injuries, has gone forward for trials for the Great Britain Adaptive Ski Team.  It was such a fantastic, humbling experience.

Throughout my career I knew I wanted to better myself. I was so proud to have served in the RAF Regiment. I made some fantastic and loyal friends. I worked for and with some very professional, hard and dedicated Officers, Airman, Solders, Sailors and Marines.  However my dream of being a Warrant Officer wasn't to be, I reached the rank of Sergeant. My final posting in the RAF was cut short following an emergency operation on my spine and losing the use of my leg for 4 months. I was away from work so much, being in hospital and in and out of Headley Court on rehabilitation, I knew my military career was ending.  So I refocused, furthered my education and learnt new skills enhancing the skills and experience I already had.

So that brought me to the end of an unbelievable 29 years - I had a fantastic time with so many great memories! I had so many great laughs! I travelled, I challenged myself mentally and physically, I had excitement and plenty of adventures!

But as one door closed, another opened and here I am as the Facilities Manager for Xplore. Utilising my experience and qualifications I look after the company's Health, Safety and Security. I am now looking forward to new challenges in an exciting, vibrant company. I have already made contact with a forces charity and am looking at the possibility of Xplore forming some kind of partnership with them in the future, which would be brilliant.

We all have many knock backs in life, we get knocked down, but we brush ourselves off and get back up again. Possibilities are endless!’

Bushcraft… we love being outdoors!

Xplore are even more eager to get out into the woods now that we have our new technical advisor for Bushcraft! John Ryder is from the Woodcraft School which runs the only externally accredited Bushcraft courses in the UK. He has worked with some exciting individuals across Europe and has now been training our Bushcraft specialists.

He will be our technical advisor on industry best practice and help to up skill our staff with in house training. We will be able to introduce new elements to our bushcraft sessions such spear throwing and the Xplore team here in the UK are very excited to share this increased knowledge and skill base with our groups and individuals.

Our bushcraft sessions are aimed at introducing participants to different sections of Bushcraft (fire, camp craft, shelter building and tracking) in a safe environment. It may involve an overnight wild camping experience or a single session. The sessions look at the technical skills, planning and knowledge to make spending time in wilderness environments more comfortable! We will update the blog in a few months time with photos and stories of what we do out in the wild! 

Safer Internet Day: Let's create a better internet together

On the 11^th February 2014, the eleventh annual Safer Internet Day will take place with the theme ‘Let’s create a better internet together’. 

Celebrated globally in over a hundred countries, Safer Internet Day aims to inspire the safe, responsible and creative use of technology.

This year’s theme covers the responsibility that everyone has in making the internet a safer and better place. For young people, Safer Internet Day is a chance to celebrate being kind and creative online, while educators, parents and carers can help to empower young people to embrace the positive by equipping them with the digital literacy skills they require for today’s world. Industry should work in partnership with others to create and promote a positive online environment for young people.

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, Safer Internet Day brings together hundreds of organisations from across the UK in promoting the safe use of technology.

To mark the day the UK Safer Internet Centre will be presenting a live TV Show from Belfast as well as hosting a youth event at Microsoft’s head offices in London.

SID TV will be broadcast live at www.saferinternetdaytv.com with advice and practical information from experts and providers such as Facebook, Twitter and BT for teachers, young people and parents on internet safety and issues such as cyberbullying, sexting, parental controls, reporting and privacy.

The Safer Internet Day 2014 Youth Event will bringing together a panel of young people with experts across government, industry and education to hear more about what a better internet means to each of these important audiences.

As Will Gardner, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, says:

“This Safer Internet Day looks set to be the biggest one yet - the fantastic range of supporters really reflects how widespread and important this issue is, and we are delighted to see such collaborations where schools, civil society, public and private sectors are all championing the same cause. Safer Internet Day is a time to celebrate the great work that everyone across the UK is doing to create a better internet together.”

For more information on the activities taking place to celebrate Safer Internet Day, visit the UK Safer Internet Centre website

Xplore Awarded ABLS Accreditation for UK Based Language Courses

Xplore has recently been granted ABLS Accreditation (Accreditation Body for Language Services). Having this accreditation is a big achievement for the company and endorses the high standard of English Language provision at our centres across England. 

As ABLS Accreditation is a UK Border Agency approved accreditation body Xplore can now support visa applications for those students travelling from outside the EEA. This will enable more agents outside the EEA to send their students to Xplore to take part in English Language courses and enhance Xplore’s placing in the youth travel market.  Xplore is one of only 5 companies in the ABLS Eastern region to have this accreditation and repeat inspections will ensure the quality assurance criteria and UK legal requirements are adhered to.

 

Being accredited will ensure continued best practice for the 10,000 students who come to an Xplore Language Camp each year in the UK. It demonstrates a commitment by Xplore to quality assurance and professional development in all areas of business.  It also gives Xplore a mark of quality that is universally recognized by government agencies, industry agents and the market as a whole.

ABLS inspector’s summary of Xplore:

‘It understands and meets its responsibilities to provide a safe and healthy environment for students and is committed to demonstrating best practice. Risk assessment, staff training and welfare are all strengths of the company and are reflected in the many Points of Excellence identified in the report. It has been successful in recruiting, retaining and developing loyal staff who share its energy and ethos. 

The organisation has demonstrated its commitment to implementing recommendations by the inspectors to ensure that English language provision meets the same high standard. In particular, it is investing in measures to ensure that it is able to attract suitably qualified and experienced teachers and support them through the development of an appropriate syllabus and corresponding materials.

The organisation is committed to ensuring that a good standard of accommodation is maintained at all centres.’

Note: The inspection was carried out while the company was still branded as KG Adventure and the report has been filed as such by ABLS Accreditation.

Further Information:

ABLS

http://www.ablsaccreditation.co.uk

The Accreditation Body of Language Services (ABLS) exists to ensure through its inspections that high standards of teaching, as well as the requisite levels of additional and necessary support, are provided for the benefit and well-being of students who are studying at English language schools.

A Student Visitor Visa is for nationals of countries outside of the European Economic Area (EAA) and Switzerland. To come to the UK as a student visitor the student must have been accepted on a course of study in the UK. The institution that provides the course must be accredited by ABLS or by another accreditation body. All ABLS accredited schools can accept students through this visa route. There is no restriction with regard to language level for students wishing to obtain a SVV. Visas are issued for courses up to 6 months and also, since January 2011, students may apply for an extended student visitor visa for courses up to 11 months.  In all cases the extended student visitor visa must be applied for through an embassy or visa issuing office. 

Hundreds of Young Volunteers Help the Elderly in China

Xplore's partnership company in China, AES, organise the 'Hope International Volunteer Group'.  Last week they took part in a big group volunteer activity 'Caring for the Elderly and Greeting the Chinese New Year'. 

 


Hundreds of volunteers including adults, children and teenagers began the afternoon in the Square of Friendship with bags of gifts to give out to the residents of the Vila Madalena Residential Care Home. The packages contained beanies, scarves, socks, medicinal oils, biscuits, fruits, red pocket (red envelopes are gifts presented at social and family gatherings such as the Chinese New Year) and other daily supplies. They then visited the elderly in the residential care home with smiles and excitement. 

The volunteers learnt about the living conditions of the elderly and brightened up the residents day by chatting with them.  Throughout the afternoon the volunteers gave several performances, such as singing, playing games, magic shows and musical performances.

Dr. Robby Kwok, Director of Hope International Volunteer, indicated that his aim was to show respect to the elderly who have greatly contributed to society and encourage the young people who took part to devote themselves to volunteer activities.

For two young boys aged 14 it certainly had an impact. They volunteer on a regular basis and believe that joining volunteer work not only helps others but develops their own communication skills. They look forward to taking part in more volunteer work in the future. 

Another volunteer brought her two young daughters along to the day. She believes that volunteering deepens their understanding of the society in which they live and makes them appreciate the things they have and how to think of others who are disadvantaged. Both girls were excited to be part of the day. 

The Xplore team look forward to sharing more tales of volunteer work that Robby and his group in China organise in the future!