The Engage Awards are a set of awards given to young people from a range of different schools across the country who have been nominated for different awards to do with their achievements in education. In 2021, the Engage Awards were held in Manchester and two of the young people from the home that we work in were nominated for awards. Jordan and I, along with one of our colleague and three young people travelled to Manchester Wednesday-Friday in order to watch the young people get their awards as well as ‘see the sights’ that Manchester has to offer. We planned the whole residential, staying in a Travelodge, going to the Trafford Centre, getting dressed up and going to the Awards and as the best part of the whole trip, going to do the stadium tour of Old Trafford and then driving home.
The Awards were great and it was clear to see that the young people that had won awards had worked really hard for them. Our two won Silver and Gold awards in their respective categories. It was great seeing everyone dresses to impress and I was impressed with how well they acquitted themselves in what can be a quite stressful environment. They were a credit to the school that they go to and really showed how all of the work that we it in can help them. It was fun for us to be able to dress up in our gladrags and socialise like normal. Along the way we even got to meet a Paralympian!
The visit to Old Trafford was always going to be the best part of the trip for me. The Theatre of Dreams. The place that my favourite team call home and the place of a lot of good memories for me. We went on the full stadium tour, allowing us to see the changing rooms, sit where Fergie sat and generally soak up the delight that is the Theatre of Dreams. It was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did the young people and Jordan and our colleague. Pictures from around the ground attached…
Our trip to Manchester was a great break from what had been a really tough section with the house getting COVID and in general the year being pretty crap. It was good to be able to let our hair down and enjoy ourselves!
For more information about the Engage Awards take a look here – https://engageintheirfuture.org/about-us/