[The name and image of the subject of this case study have been changed to protect the identity of the young person.]
Anwar was 17 years of age when he joined the Lead and Be Led programme in October 2017. When Anwar initially joined the programme, we asked him what his perception of a “good leader” was before the programme and whether he considered himself to be a leader. Anwar replied with the following:
“Before this course…I actually thought a good leader was just someone that knows how to lead the people and bring people [round] to their ideas and wouldn’t listen to others. Once the sessions started I realised a good leader is someone that’s going to listen to the people around him idea’s and also he would make the people who aren’t comfortable and don’t have selfconfidence – he would make them feel more comfortable with themselves.”
“At school, I never had real friends. I was just trying to please everyone to get their attention. Before I came to this school I never had people around me that loved me… I got bullied. I never knew how to protect myself so I became weaker. I was around 11/12. I was trying to be friends with the bullies because I was scared to be bullied. I didn’t realise I was making the same mistakes until this Nov [2017].”
Anwar was also asked if he had witnessed any changes in attitudes or any other positive development on the programme. Anwar answered with the following:
“One change I’ve seen in myself is believing in my dreams… I realise it’s better for me to start working hard and opening my mind to follow my dreams. I literally start to believe in my dreams because before I was scared as before I was following bad boys. I just realised that I have to be myself and be with the right people and follow my dreams.”
“When I was at the beginning of the course I used to come and listen to Tebs and Sham talk… Sham’s model for vision and team‐work has helped me. Right now, in physics I’m working on a theory by myself but if I actually want to realise this theory I can’t do it by myself I need a team.”
Anwar is now 18 years of age and still engaged with us. He has been able to take control of his education by changing his sixth‐form – a decision he felt was in his best interest and one he had to explain to parents who were quite strict in forcing him to stay in school. He has been actively seeking employment and landed a few paid opportunities in the process – these include board advisor at Imperial College and as a gallerist at The Photographer’s Gallery. Anwar has continued to share his skills with online friends as well as bringing in two other young people to ATM House to get support. Anwar had suffered from an undiagnosed mental health illness and through the programme, he learned the practical ways of coping and was then referred to external support. He has grown tremendously in confidence, he would never speak in front of new people and now he is able to deliver speeches, talk to strangers and make friends in ways that he could not before. He has another year of A‐Level studies to complete before he hopes to attend University.