A group of students from Queen Margaret Academy School will
attend Ayr Racecourse on Thursday 6th October, 2011 as
the result of a partnership that has been implemented between The
Prince's Trust and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The aim
of the day is to give the students an overview of the racing
industry, and showcase the huge range of employment opportunities
that exist within the sport for young people.
This unique opportunity to gain an insight
into how a day at the races works, will commence with an
introduction by racecourse Head of PR Iain Ferguson and will be
followed by a number of sessions with the people who make a raceday
happen. The students will walk the track with the Clerk of the
Course, visit the stable yard, accompany the Starter to his
position and enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the weighing room
and enquiry room with the Clerk of the Scales and Stipendiary
Stewards.
With around 20% of young people aged 16-24 not
in work, education or training in Scotland, youth charity The
Prince's Trust helps disadvantaged young people to overcome the
barriers to achieving this and to gain the confidence, skills and
motivation needed to find future employment and training
opportunities. British Horseracing became involved with the charity
through its partnership with sport which works closely with over
100 key partners including Governing Bodies of UK Sport and other
Sporting Organisations to deliver sport linked programmes that
engage, motivate and develop young people.
The partnership between the BHA and The
Prince's Trust launched in November 2008, providing the Racing
Experience Days to The Prince's Trust xl programme. xl Clubs are
run in schools nationwide for pupils in Years 10 and 11 who are at
risk of truanting and underachievement. In 2010, xl Club members
visited Ascot, Newmarket, Beverley, Cheltenham, Doncaster and Ffos
Las.
Chris Brand, Acting Chief Executive of the British Horseracing
Authority said:
"Racing directly employs over 20,000 people,
with another 70,000 working in related sectors, so it has a big
impact on communities up and down the country - no other sport
employs so many people across such a wide range of jobs and
locations. We, as a sport, want to use this network to help young
people and we are grateful to the racecourses and industry
employees who have been more than happy to offer their resources to
such a worthy cause."
Tom Keer, Head of Sport at The Prince's Trust
added:
"We are hugely grateful to the BHA for its
support through the delivery of the Racing Experience Days. I
am pleased to say that since our partnership began we have helped
over 100 young people through the sport. And I am delighted to see
the partnership go from strength to strength as we look to develop
new ways to work together."
Iain Ferguson, Head of PR at Ayr Racecourse
said:
"We are delighted to welcome the Prince's
Trust, BHA and pupils from Queen Margaret Academy to the course for
the racing experience day.
"It is particularly fitting that such a high profile local
school is involved as we at Ayr pride ourselves on being an
integral part of the community. We feel this is a marvellous
initiative and look forward to welcoming everyone on the day."