Winter Sports Club
14/02/2010 21:42:57

SYC will run a sports club again this winter from 15th to 19th February. Hours are from 10am to 3:30pm. Tickets will again cost five pounds per day.

Closure over Christmas
13/12/2009 21:49:40

The last day on which the club will be open this year is Thursday 17th December. The club will reopen in the New Year on Monday 4th January.

Christmas Party
18/11/2009 15:38:24

The SYC Christmas party will be held on 12th December at 7:30pm. Tickets will cost 3.50. A bar and disco will be available and the SYC dance troupe, Fierce, will perform.

Race night successful
20/10/2009 17:27:50

The night of racing held on 10th October was a great success, raising around 1100 pounds for Shaftesbury. A performance by the SYC dance troupe was particularly well received, and a further performance has been arranged to accompany the Ray Stubbs evening.

Autumn Sports Club
11/10/2009 09:59:53

As during the summer, a sports club will run from 10am to 3:30pm, on every weekday of the last week in October. Tickets will again cost five pounds/day.

An Evening with Ray Stubbs
04/10/2009 15:02:21

A dinner will be held at the Leverhulme Hotel and Spa in Port Sunlight on 20th October to raise funds for the SYC All-Weather Pitch Fund, beginning 7:00pm for 7:30pm. Tickets are twenty-five pounds; the menu is Lancashire hot-pot, apple crumble, and coffee.

Chickens!
29/09/2009 20:55:38

Shaftesbury is now home to a dozen ex-battery chickens.

Race Night
10/09/2009 18:05:14

A night of racing will be held on 10th October in order to raise funds for Shaftesbury, with the first race beginning at 8:00pm.

Tickets will cost five pounds each. A buffet and late bar will be available.

Summer Sports Club
08/07/2009 18:42:52

The youth club will operate a sports club on every weekday between 20th July and 14th August. Sessions will run from 10am to 3.30pm and attendance will cost five pounds per day. A variety of sports will be available.

Shaftesbury under-13s receive award
03/06/2009 15:13:34

Shaftesbury's U13 football team has received the league's award for Most Sporting Team. Levi Woolley was recognized for obtaining the second-largest number of Man of the Match awards this season.

Pool and snooker competition - national finals
19/05/2009 18:43:30

SYC members performed well at the national finals of the Clubs for Young People pool and snooker competition, held in Barnsley on Sunday 10th May.

In the snooker competition, Danny Harrison reached the U19 final and took the runner-up position, whilst Josh Griffiths came third in the U16 bracket. In the runners-up competition, Jerri Short and Rebecca Johanson came second and third respectively.

Success in pool and snooker competition
22/04/2009 14:53:51

Cheshire was reinforced at the Northern Area competition in Barnsley on 5th April by the addition of SYC members Danny Harrison, Jerri Short, and Rebecca Johanson.

The enlarged group performed impressively, with Danny taking first place in the male under-19 section and Josh Griffiths placing third in the under-16s. In the female under-19s, Jerri and Rebecca both succeeded in reaching the final match, with Jerri overcoming Rebecca to win the section.

Our successful representatives now advance to the national finals, which will be held on 10th May, again in Barnsley.

Brookdale group visit SYC
08/04/2009 17:06:51

Over Easter, from Thursday 8th to the following Wednesday, a group from Brookdale Youth Club in Northern Ireland will visit Shaftesbury. This continues a tradition of annual visits by the club to Shaftesbury that has now lasted for more than twenty-five years.

The youth club will host their under-8 and under-15 football teams for a programme of activities. To enable this to take place, the club building will be closed to normal business from Thursday until Monday 19th.

Pool and snooker - CYP competition
01/04/2009 17:17:34

SYC members have been selected to represent Cheshire in the pool and snooker competition held by Clubs for Young People. Josh Griffiths and Chris Lennan will play in the U16 and U19 categories respectively. The Northern Area competition will be held on Sunday 5th April in Barnsley.

Through the night at SYC
28/02/2009 22:15:30

Members of the dance troupe took part in a sponsored sleepover on Friday 13th. The event, which began at 8pm, lasted thirteen hours.

Money raised from the sleepover will go towards costumes and music for the troupe.

Spring Newsletter 2008
25/01/2009 18:23:19

ECO MAN KICKS OFF SYC'S NEW YEAR

As well as its well known sporting pursuits Shaftes is developing creative arts activities for Club members. This follows last year's successes AND is encouraged by the opportunities in Capital of Culture year with its host of lively cultural events all over Merseyside. We have a small grant to extend the sculpture project using recycled materials and we hope to put on a creative arts event involving dance and drama. New ideas and volunteers to work in this area are welcome and grant money may be available for other suitable projects.

SYC BECOMES A TRAINING PROVIDER

Shaftes and local schools (and the Connexions service for one project) are working in partnership to provide a range of day-time courses to year 10 and 11 school students (14-16 year olds). The courses, leading to NCFE qualifications, are chosen as options by the students and are led by Shaftes staff Phil Nugent and Darren Sharrock and trainer Dave Johnson. The students attend the courses at Shaftes in school hours for (usually) two days a week and as an alternative to school attendance. They follow planned and structured courses which are approved externally by the Learning and Skills Council.
Phil and Darren are well qualified to lead these courses, which are a natural extension to their roles as youth workers. Dave has previous experience of running similar courses. All three have an informed and sensitive understanding of the particular social and emotional needs of
young people and, by working with small groups, are able to provide an experience that schools might not always have the time or space to offer.
In 2008 the following courses will be underway:
Entry to the Uniformed Services, level 2
Certificate in Exercise Studies
Certificate in Sports Coaching
Personal development
There are plans to offer an adult literacy and numeracy course which meets the needs of some of the students on the personal development course.
The courses are open to both sexes and are supported and appreciated by our local schools. Phil and his staff are to be congratulated for seizing the initiative and persevering to develop these courses, which are proving enormously successful in engaging the students who attend and enjoy them.

YOUNG VOLUNTEERS HELP OUT AT SHAFTES

James Doyle, 17, has been a popular member of SYC for several years. James has gradually taken on more responsibilities at Shaftes in line with current thinking in youth work which encourages young people to participate in the operation of their youth clubs.
He was recently appointed volunteer coordinator, in which role he publicises opportunities for other young people to volunteer, help out and get involved in running the Club. As well as work inside Shaftes, James and other young volunteers attend external meetings and
committees as our youth representatives. This widens their experience and helps their general development but also ensures that the Club understands the interests and concerns of its members.
Last year James was the deserving recipient of the Robert Thompson Award (named after a former president of the Shaftes board) for outstanding volunteering and which was presented at our annual general meeting by the Mayor of Wirral. James's efforts featured in the January edition of the magazine Youth Work Now.

LIVERPOOL LEGACY

Rydal Bankhall Youth Club was based in Kirkdale, Liverpool for many years but in 2006 the Trustees decided that, due to withdrawal of financial support from Liverpool City Council combined with lack of Management Committee support, the Club should close and the financial assets be transferred to another youth club that could illustrate similar philosophies and intent to the Rydal Bankhall Club.
Shaftesbury Youth Club was approached in May 2006 by the Trustees and a formal agreement relating to the transfer of assets based on the requirements of the Charity Commission was concluded in August 2007. It is hoped that following the redevelopment of our sports pavilion it will be renamed the Rydal Bankhall Pavilion.

NEWS ROUND-UP
1. Three senior youth members aged 16 to 18 attended a workshop about young volunteers held at Shaftes and run by Clubs for Young People.
2. Youth workers from across Wirral joined Shaftes staff at a training session at the Club run by the Brook organisation on 'working with boys and young men'.
3. In conjunction with Clubs for Young People the Club organised an evening of sports competitions between Shaftes and youth clubs from Liverpool. Thirty young people played five-a-side, snooker, pool and table tennis against each other, with each club gaining points from each event. It was a totally fun evening, with Centre 63 from Kirkby emerging as the overall winners.
4. Numbers at the Monday night soccer league sessions passes the one hundred mark last October.
5. The allotment has been cleared and is ready for use once we hear the result of our grant application.

Looking back at 2007
25/01/2009 18:17:17

WE WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

Phil Nugent reports: During the October 2007 half term we organised a week-long residential to the Lake District for thirteen young people aged between 15 and 19 accompanied by three staff. We stayed at Isthmus Cottage which is situated right on the edge of Derwentwater in Keswick. The views across the water and into the mountains are spectacular, especially first thing in the morning with the mist rolling across the lake.

During the week we all had a go at ghyll scrambling, which involves climbing down a mountain stream, jumping into plunge pools and sliding down on the rocks. It is a very exciting activity and even the freezing cold water didn't dampen our enthusiasm. We also completed numerous hill walks around Keswick and Whinlatter forest park and towards the end of the week we hired rowing boats and navigated around Derwent Isle.
Throughout the week the young people helped with all the chores and cooked some very tasty meals. The weather all week was fantastic for the time of year, with lovely winter sun and no rain at all. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and all the young people were a pleasure to be with and a credit to themselves and the Club.

Vikki Bayne writes: My time in the Lake District with Shaftesbury Youth Club was a very enjoyable one. On the second day of our trip we all went on a mountain walk up Whinlatter, Keswick. The walk consisted of five hours, steady paced walking. When we got to the top of the mountain we had lunch and took time to take in and appreciate the scenery which surrounds Keswick. When we got back down to Whinlatter visitor centre we had a rest and looked around at what facilities they had to offer.

CHRISTMAS CARDS ALREADY?

We held a competition last year for members to design a Christmas card for the Club. As well as encouraging the creativity of our members, the aim was to produce a card which could be printed and sold for publicity and fund-raising purposes. Our competition winner was Chablis Peel, a play-scheme member then aged 12 whose design is featured here. Thanks to the efforts of staff, Council members and football teams, sales of the cards were very encouraging and we hope to repeat the competition in subsequent years and to build up a selection of card designs.

DINNER FOR GOOD SPORTS

A sporting dinner, held at the Leasowe Castle Hotel on 27th September, was very well attended and considered an entertaining and worthwhile evening - as well as raising funds for the Club. Our sporting president Ian St John conducted the activities and comedian Johnny Kennedy provided the jokes. Four of our young members attended, enjoyed the evening with all the other guests, and acted as worthy ambassadors for the Club.


SHAFTES ON THE CATWALK

Shaftes has been recycling cans and bottles for some time now and a leap of imagination led us to develop the eco fashion project. This involved using second-hand clothes, recycled materials, and general odds and ends to create new fashion outfits. In a fashion night to remember, the outfits were ably modelled by their creators in a lively and colourful catwalk show in the Shaftes sports hall on World Environment Day in June last year.
Members from as young as five and upwards were involved in the project which was led by Alison Bailey-Smith. Alison is a celebrated local artist who uses recycled materials in her work. Compere for the night was John Gorman of Scaffold and Tiswas fame. Russell Keenan of BBC 2's It's Not Easy Being Green was our guest speaker and there were stalls for local organisations and crafts people.
Many parents and Friends of Shaftes attended. All were greatly heartened and few were left unmoved by the vibrancy, creativity, enthusiasm, and magnificent teamwork demonstrated by all involved.
Following the catwalk show Alison arranged a stunning display of the garments and accessories at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead. This show filled one large room at the gallery and was featured in the local press. Proud parents and participants in the project visited the show along with large numbers of the public.

SAD LOSSES AND FOND MEMORIES

The Club has dedicated a plaque to the memory of Norman Couche who died in May 2007 and who is greatly missed. The plaque was unveiled by Norman's widow, Mary, and the Mayor of Wirral. Norman was born in 1929, was involved with Shaftes from 1959, and retired from the Club Council only a short time before his death. Norman followed his father (who also played a key role in the Club's development), serving Shaftes as a member, chair and president of Council with unfailing support.

Former Shaftes Council member Leslie Bibby died last August at the age of 90. He was the chair of Council between 1961 and 1972 and president in 1973/4. He also wrote a history of Shaftes. The Club was represented at his funeral service and we were enormously gratified that Leslie's family asked for any donations to go to the Club.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

Our memorial service, an annual Shaftes tradition, was held on Sunday 11th November. Staff, council members, young people and old boys and their families paid tribute to the young men of Shaftes who lost their lives in conflict as members of the armed services.

Newsletter 2006
30/01/2006 15:50:59

The latest newsletter is available to download off the website in pdf format.

Link to newsletter page 1

Link to newsletter page 2

To view the pdf you must have acrobat reader installed.