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What’s Next?

What’s Next?

“It’s like you guys have changed me and I’m so happy now that I’ve gone through it all”
Liam, age 16

Contact the team to share your stories, and let us know what you’re up to now

The Youth Adventure Trust programmes are about building confidence and resilience, trying something different, and meeting new people. As your time with YAT comes to an end, we hope you’ll look forward to new challenges, feel ready to give different things a go, and build on your experiences by getting involved in things that interest you in your local area.

There’s lots of different options; from youth groups and creative clubs, to sports teams and award schemes. You may even be able to go on an adventure expedition, or become a volunteer helping other people out.

Follow the links to help you make contact with other youth organisations, or get in touch with the YAT team if you’d like to have a chat about what you could do next.

14 – 16 year olds

  • Sport
  • Creative
  • Leisure organisations
  • Financial support
    • Youth Adventure Trust Bursary Scheme: Available to all young people at the end of their Youth Adventure Programme until they are 16 years old – apply to cover the cost of kit, equipment, travel and membership for activities.
    • Cam&Bear Fund: Grants of up to £500 available for 12-18 year olds to help them take part in outdoor activities.
    • The DofE Resilience Fund: Funding to help you access the Duke of Edinburgh award.
  • Local information
    • Youth Action Wiltshire: Information for Young Carers.
    • Splash: Free activities available in school and summer holidays.
    • Wiltshire Clubs Information: Browse through the wide selection of leisure activities available in Wiltshire.
    • Wiltshire Youth Council: have your say on decisions that are made in your area. Youth councillors will be helping to allocate money to projects that are important to them and their peers. They will also have the chance to inspect council services, ensuring that these represent young people’s best interests. For age 11-17.
    • Greatwood Charity work with retired and rescued former race horses and offer a wide range of educational programmes and events to get involved with.
  • Volunteering and Expeditions
    • Duke of Edinburgh Award: Find everything you need to know about the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Search providers by location. You can search for DofE volunteer opportunities here. If you want to complete the fantastic DofE awards scheme this is a great place to start. You can also talk to your Programme Manager who can help you complete your DofE.
    • Inspiring Girls Expeditions: Unique, tuition-free wilderness science expeditions for young women aged 15-17.
    • Wiltshire Wildlife Trust: Volunteering opportunities across Wiltshire.
    • Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital are based in Salisbury, helping 1000’s of animals every year. They accept volunteers from the age of 16 upwards with lots of different roles available.
    • Wiltshire Wildlife Conservation Volunteers carry out a wide range of tasks to help maintain and improve conditions for wildlife in Wiltshire. No experience needed to get involved and volunteer.
    • Do It. Search for volunteering opportunities by location in a wide variety of roles.
    • Community First: Search Volunteer opportunities by interest. You can even search only for organisations that accept under 16 year old volunteers.
    • The RSPB have tonnes of games, activities and ways to get involved to help save nature. All these activities can be found here. Some of our favourites include the Big Garden Birdwatch and the fantastic Spot It sheets.
    • Kaya: Opportunities to volunteer abroad.
    • One World: Opportunities to volunteer abroad.
    • Projects Abroad: Opportunities to volunteer abroad
  • Mental Health support
    • On Your Mind offer advice and support for your emotional wellbeing. Their website has lots of information and tips to help manage your mental health and they offer online, phone and face to face counselling and therapy.
    • Barnardos run Wiltshire’s Early Mental Health and Counselling service for 5-18 year olds. They have lots of resources, positive activities, group working and counselling available.
    • Kooth: A free, safe and anonymous place for young people to find online support and counselling. They have a very short video explaining everything they offer here.
    • Mind are a Mental Health charity providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They have a specific Young Person area on their website and they offer advice and support whether its for yourself, a friend, or a partner.
    • Young Minds are a youth focussed mental health charity offering support, advice, and lots more if your not feeling your best.
    • Health Watch Wiltshire: A children and young persons mental health service offering a helpline, lists of different support available, and advice and guidance on where to turn when your feeling low.
    • 30 Days of Happiness Challenge: Doing one thing a day that makes you happy can really improve your health, mental well being and make you feel more positive.

16 years +

  • Sport
    • 1st4Sport: Qualifications in 39 sports available here.
    • Wiltshire FA: Football coaching opportunities.
    • Sports Clubs in Wiltshire: If you are interested in coaching a specific sport you can find information on all sorts of clubs in your local area who will be able to advise you on what course is best suited to you.
    • WASP (Wiltshire and Swindon Sport): Sports clubs in Swindon and Wiltshire.
    • Sports Clubs in Swindon: Find information about all kinds of sports and activities in Swindon.
    • Active Wiltshire: Sports club directory for Wiltshire & Swindon.
    • Mountain Training England are the governing body for Climbing and Hill Walking in England. They offer climbing courses and hill walking courses from introductory to advanced level, with minimum ages ranging from 10-16 years old.
    • BarBend aim to provide the most informed content around fitness and strength training. From improving posture to building muscle, they have loads of blogs and articles to help you exercise well at home here.
  • Creative
  • Volunteering
    • Royal Voluntary Service: Search for volunteer opportunities by location.
    • Community First: Search Volunteer opportunities by interest. You can even search by the age range that can volunteer.
    • Kaya: Opportunities to volunteer abroad.
    • Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital are based in Salisbury, helping 1000’s of animals every year. They accept volunteers from the age of 16 upwards with lots of different roles available.
    • Wiltshire Wildlife Conservation Volunteers carry out a wide range of tasks to help maintain and improve conditions for wildlife in Wiltshire. No experience needed to get involved and volunteer.
    • Do It. Search for volunteering opportunities by location in a wide variety of roles.
    • One World: Opportunities to volunteer abroad.
    • Projects Abroad: Opportunities to volunteer abroad.
    • Explorers Connect: Lots of expeditions offered each year, many with free places available to apply for.
  • Education, Apprenticeships and Employment
    • Local Courses and Qualifications: Find courses and qualifications for your age group in your area.
    • Work Wiltshire: A resource and guide to your next steps for 16-24 year olds including Employment, Apprenticeships & Volunteering in Wiltshire.
    • Search for all Schools and Colleges in Wiltshire and Swindon: Compare all schools and colleges performance in Wiltshire & Swindon.
    • Do you want to work with horses? If so check out Greatwood Horse Charity who run two different courses aimed at helping you to start a career working with horses. There ‘Get Going’ course runs for 5 days and gets you an accredited qualification. There ‘Initial Bit’ course runs for 13 weeks and teaches you even more skills needed in the equine industry. Checkout Greatwood Charity website to contact them, or let us know and we can put your name forward.
  • Financial Support
  • Something different
    • NCS: National Citizenship Service. A 3-4 week programme including outdoor activities, independent living and social action for 15-17 year olds.
    • ICS: International Citizenship Service. Provides overseas volunteer placements for 18-25 year olds.
    • Inspiring Girls Expeditions: Unique, tuition-free wilderness science expeditions for young women aged 15-17 years old.
    • Duke of Edinburgh Award: Find everything you need to know about the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Search providers by location. You can search for DofE volunteer opportunities here. If you want to complete the fantastic DofE awards scheme this is a great place to start.
    • The RSPB have tonnes of games, activities and ways to get involved to help save nature. All these activities can be found here. Some of our favourites include the Big Garden Birdwatch and the fantastic Spot It sheets.
    • Bemerton Heath Bike Club: Working with local young people in Salisbury restoring and selling affordable second-hand bikes.
    • Raleigh International Bursary Fund: Apply for a bursary to allow you to take on an international adventure, for 17 – 24 year olds.
    • Martin Moran Foundation For young people with a passion for the mountains. This foundation offer fully-funded places on their 7 day programmes to 16-18 yr olds who have a passion for the mountains but may not have the support and financial resources to access them. Learn the skills, knowledge and self-reliance required to get the most out of spending time in the mountains, learning rock climbing, hill walking and much more.
    • Greatwood Charity work with retired and rescued former race horses and offer a wide range of educational programmes and events to get involved with.