Xplore Awards Scholarship!

Student Sohrab Ayan from Hamburg has been chosen for a full scholarship to the value of around € 14.000 for a one-year exchange programme in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Out of the 200 applications received, the young German student with strong Afghan roots impressed Xplore and the NSISP - Nova Scotia International School programme with his personality and the very moving story of his family.

During a ceremony following the official conference of the Canadian Association of Public Schools in the Le Meridian Hotel in Hamburg the prize was officially handed over.

But not only the scholarship has been awarded, Ayan also received information on his host family and his new school. Sohrab will leave at the end of August towards Canada, and will be staying in Sherbrooke, around 20 km from the Atlantic Coast.

The selection and award was organised by the Xplore Foundation, also based in Hamburg. www.xplorefoundation.de

Xplore goes rugby mad with Johne Murphy and PSA Academies

In honour of introducing an exciting new rugby training camp in association with our sister company, PSA Academies, headed up by the former French international and national coach Philippe Saint Andre; we sat down with Johne Murphy, ex-Ireland A, Munster and Leicester Tigers player; who is also facilitating the camp as well as joining the camp’s world-class international coaching line up.

Based at the stunning Alpine resort of Tignes; Philippe, Johne and the team are inviting promising young players aged between 10 and 18 for a week of intensive rugby coaching focusing on a wide range of core skills, such as game management, positional play, speed, agility and flexibility.

“My personal belief is that sometimes there’s not enough value given to the core skills,” says Murphy. “Summer training camps improve core skills, as well as being a chance to get away and get to know your teammates, building friendships and bonds while you are away together.”

For Johne, playing rugby began aged 7 at his local club, Cill Dara and having attended sports camps during his youth, Johne believes there are key benefits to attending a training camp such as this in the journey to becoming a professional rugby player, especially as part of player development and pre-season preparation.

“Pre-season training is all about improvements in both your physical development and also your skill development it gives you to chance to concentrate on your core skills and fitness because during the session it is all about match preparation.”

It’s not just the player development and season preparation elements, which make the camp so alluring to young players looking to take their rugby further. Being scouted by Leicester Tigers aged 20; Johne references the potential for players even younger being spotted for talent at camp.

“Being able to play in front of international-level coaches and to pass on our knowledge to young players is massive for me. Giving talented young players a platform to showcase not only their skills on and off the pitch but also their ability to develop is a great opportunity”

The PSA Academies rugby training camp is available at two levels; intermediate for ages 10 to 15 and advanced for 16 to 18 year olds. Available during July for 3 weeks, both individual players and groups can book, with players from all over the world coming together.

For more information, please visit www.psaacademies.com

Johne’s top tips for becoming a professional rugby player:

• Love what you do, because you’ll work harder to achieve your goals
• Listen and take in as much information as possible
• Build your core skills and never stop working on them
• Never be afraid to enjoy the journey, enjoy the hard work because it makes it even nicer when you see the rewards 

PSA Academies Resort, Tignes

Top 10 benefits of going to camp!

If you’ve ever been to camp, you’ll know that having a go at new adventure activities such as archery, quad biking, climbing and kayaking is not only super fun and exciting, but did you ever consider the other, longer lasting benefits that being at camp can offer a child. Here is our list of the top ten benefits for spending even just a day at camp:

1. Developing emotional and social skills

At camp, children learn to be away from familiar environments such as home or school, meeting new people and have the opportunity to make their own decisions in regards to the activities they want to participate in during the day.

2. Unplug from technology

It’s really difficult to navigate a climbing wall with an iPhone in hand, so at camp, there is usually a ‘leave it at home’ mantra. Being away from technology allows children to rediscover the great outdoors, be creative and get lots of fresh air!

3. Trying new things

Activity camps offer just that, lots of activities – from archery to climbing and bush craft to kayaking, these may be unknown but by trying something new, children can find hobbies and interests outside of the norm!

4. Friendship building and resilience

Being at camp means that children have the opportunity to make friends with others that they wouldn’t meet otherwise. Not only that, by participating in different activities throughout the day, these friendships are bonded through shared experiences.

5. Mental stimulation and physical activity

Many activities at camp have a problem solving or team-building element to them, so not only are the children physically active in an outside environment, they are also cognitively active!

6. Independence and empowerment

Children given the opportunity to do something on their own, gives them great empowerment. Daily passports used to record their camp experience are very often used for school show and tells, which gives each child great ownership of their experience.

7. Confidence reinforced through success

Achieving something new at camp makes children feel good, reinforced by awards for effort and achievement allow a child’s confidence to develop.

 

8. Creativity, free of judgement

Outside of activity sessions are periods of unstructured free time for children to play under supervision. This is really important for allowing children to explore their creativity and unleash their imaginations.

9. Sense of community

After bonding through a series of adrenaline inducing activities, it is quite often that children request to come back year after year to join their camp friends. Some even progress on to stay residentially!

10. Happy parents

Children sleep well after a day at camp, what’s more, camps fit around a parent’s working day perfectly, with the ability to drop off early and pick up late with lunch included; spending the day at camp takes the stress off!

So what are you waiting for...activity day camps are running at Finborough Hall, Suffolk this Easter from Tuesday 29th March until Friday 8th April and then nationwide during the Summer! 

Xplore Swim Challenge 2.0

Bridge to Bridge

Following last year's Lake Windermere epic swimming challenge; two members of our Head Office team, Gemma and Neil have again decided to dip their toes into the world of open water swimming by entering The Thames Marathon 2016.

Training for the pair has already begun, with a gruelling regime planned to prepare them for the 14km endurance that will take the swimmers from Henley-on-Thames to Marlow on 7th August.

You can find out more about the 'Bridge to Bridge' Thames Marathon here