Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a leadership training programme for teenagers. Each year, the Rotary Club of Cranleigh seeks two candidates for sponsorship on the week-long course. This year (2011), the lucky pair to attend High Ashurst Outdoor Activity Centre at Box Hill, near Dorking, were Haruka Kobayashi and Luke Lymbourides, both from Glebelands School. 

During a presentation to the Club after the event, the young people explained the value of the course, with its opportunities to meet other students from many different places, to bond with them and to gain team-building skills. With no access to TV, radio or newspapers, the emphasis was on outdoor activities, including team-building exercises such as raft building, abseiling, kayak football and a lengthy hike with clues along the way. 

However, everyone was given a treat by attending a performance of "Wicked" in the West End, and the week ended on another high with a concert put together by all the RYLA attendees. “Highly recommended – it was great fun, we made a lot of new friends, and we learned such a lot about how to work as a team,” was the verdict of Haruka and Luke. “It was tiring, but very enjoyable.”