Lonsdale KS4/5 pupils are warmly invited to attend the Lonsdale Conference ‘Preparing for Adulthood – Life after Lonsdale’, which will take place on Monday 27^th March 2023 at Lonsdale School from 10am to 3pm in the Hall.

 

During the conference, our pupils will hear from keynote speakers about their journeys after leaving Lonsdale School, about their achievements, successes and the barriers they have encountered in adult life. The speakers, who are all former Lonsdale pupils, will give a short talk each, sharing their personal journeys. Pupils will then have the opportunity to ask the speakers their questions.

Lunch will be provided for all conference participants.

After lunch, there will be workshops, which are led by the keynote speakers and Lonsdale staff, where pupils will work together to further explore what adult life could be like and how they can best prepare for life after Lonsdale.

The conference will finish at 3pm.

This is an exciting opportunity for our older secondary students to find out from former Lonsdale pupils what life after Lonsdale is like. We would like them to hear about former pupils’ personal journeys, the successes they have celebrated and barriers they have come across in their private and/or working lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feedback - Life after Lonsdale Conference

 

Before the conference my understanding of Preparing for Adulthood was:

6% of pupils said their understanding of Preparing for Adulthood was poor, and they knew very little.

63% of pupils said their understanding of Preparing for Adulthood was fair, and they knew some information.

19% of pupils said their understanding of Preparing for Adulthood was good, and they knew quite a lot of information.

12% of pupils said their understanding of Preparing for Adulthood was excellent, and they knew lots of some information.

 

After the conference my understanding of Preparing for Adulthood:

88% of pupils said their understanding had increased

12% of pupils said their understanding had stayed the same

 

88% of pupils said that after the conference they felt they knew a lot more about the different parts of Preparing for Adulthood (For example – independent living, relationships, employment, etc.)

12% of pupils said that after the conference they felt they knew slightly more about the different parts of Preparing for Adulthood (For example – independent living, relationships, employment, etc.)

 

After the conference I felt:

88% of pupils said that after the conference they felt significantly more confident about the different parts of Preparing for Adulthood

12% of pupils said that after the conference they felt slightly more confident about the different parts of Preparing for Adulthood

 

When pupils were asked what they enjoyed most about the conference, comments included:

• “Hearing about the experiences of others.”
• “The keynote speakers.”
• “Getting to talk to the guests and ask questions.”
• “The workshops.”  

 

When asked about what they found most interesting about the conference, pupils said the following:

• “Hearing other people’s stories.”
• “Discussing different options for Preparing for Adulthood.”
• “Having conversations with the keynote speakers.”
• “Learning more about what you can do once you leave school.”
• “The different experiences that the keynote speakers had.”
• “Hearing about the challenges that are faced in adulthood.”
• “Having lots in common with one of the visitors.”

                                                                                             

Feedback from the keynote speakers was overwhelming positive. Here are some of the comments received after the conference:

• “As a result of today I would like to become involved more in my community here at school through volunteering.”
• “Thank you for such a lovely day. Workshop teacher was amazing. I want to come back for some volunteering!”
• “It was a fantastic day! I will be coming back soon! I was amazed about being one of the oldest students there. I made some history!”

We also had some feedback from a parent about the conference.

[My son] really enjoyed this day - even though originally he said he would prefer to be doing lessons. He said he could really relate to some of the speakers and particularly to one of the girls - although I think they were enjoying a moan about wheelchairs in general!

He also enjoyed the fact that I had given him lunch, and lunch was provided so he ate both.