Prince's Trust Visits Game of Thrones Country

South West College’s 2018 Prince’s Trust cohort were in Game of Throne’s country during their residential stay at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre last year, as they visited locations such as Inch Abbey where parts of the television sensation were shot.

Situated on the edge of the Mournes, Tollymore National Outdoor Centre, is Northern Ireland’s National Centre for Mountaineering and Canoeing Activities. It's funded and managed by Sport Northern Ireland, and is placed in an area of Northern Ireland famous for having been used to film scenes for Games of Thrones. While on the residential retreat, the students took part in activities including rock climbing, high rope climbing, hill walking, and canoeing. While visiting Inch Abbey, the students were able to grab a picture with a group of Games of Thrones fans on a special tour of the spot made famous on the TV show.

The retreat is a significant part of the Prince's Trust Programme and came help bring the students involved closer together, as well as help them develop a new set of skills. Many of the students involved commented on how the activities they were introduced to were unlike any the had done before, and how they found themselves capable of things on the third day of the retreat that they would not have been confident in doing on the first.

Unsurprisingly then the retreat was a major topic when it came to the Prince's Trust, Omagh Group delivering their final presentation to a group of family and friends in the IDEA Centre just before Christmas. Eight students completed the latest programme, and they delivered a presentation discussing the projects they had completed and the things they had learned in this time, featuring a slide show presentation from their time at the Tollymore National Outdoor Centre.

Speaking at the event, a representative from the Prince's Trust Northern Ireland said: 'The Prince's Trust tries to deliver on he importance of the Three C's: Confidence, Communication and Consistency. And I can see it all here today. Your confidence is growing, which is a huge part of what this programme is about. Communication, which is what employers look for, is evident in your presentation. And even though consistency can be hard to notice close up, by making through this course you have diapered it in coming into class every day. It's another great group of young people, and the belief the college have in working with young people and building their potential is outstanding.'