Claygate Youth and Community Hub.

Any event involving sparklers and toasted marsh-mallows was going to be enjoyed by Suzanne and myself but we had an exceptionally great time being hosted by the Claygate Youth and Community Hub. It is a remarkable place being in an old village school hall provided by Surrey County Council. It offers fun, youth activities and support to all young people aged 11-19, providing a safe and welcoming space for them to socialise, learn new skills, and get support and advice when needed. Open as a drop-in centre on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays each week as well as offering holiday clubs for 11-16s.

It was wonderful to see the rapport between the staff, volunteers and the young people who are encouraged to express themselves whilst enjoying activities from cooking, playing games, trying new activities and developing social skills. The Hub believes in empowering young people, helping them to achieve their full potential and to make positive contributions to their communities. This sits so well with my Shrieval theme this year of preventing young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training), and Katie Holmes the Hub Manager and her wonderful team and trustees deserve tremendous credit for what they have created for their local community. There was a very touching moment when one of the young people came up to me to specifically tell me how Katie through a number of one to one sessions, and by encouraging his involvement in the Hub, had changed his life.

Suzanne spent most of the evening in the kitchen, helping prepare pumpkin soup and cakes, whilst I was diligently carrying out quality control testing on the marsh-mallows!