Hundreds of teens get inspired at free Hexham festival

The Kingswood Residential Centre at Dukeshouse Wood in Hexham was one of six venues across the UK who played host to the Loud Speaker Easter Weekender, an event created to help those aged 15 to 17 learn new social skills, increase their confidence and widen their networks.

In all, more than 1,000 attended all the events, which were the brainchild of Calvin Eden and Oba Akinwale. They founded Loud Speaker in 2019 as a means to provide young people with opportunities to get a better start in life. Calvin’s best friend was tragically murdered when he was aged just 15.

The Loud Speaker Easter Weekenders were delivered in collaboration with the National Citizen Service (NCS), a non-profit organisation who shares common goals with Loud Speaker in wanting to shape, support and champion young peoples’ contributions to society. They were able to fully fund all places on the weekender, enabling free attendance.

Calvin said: “We’ve been totally blown away by the energy and positivity of the attendees at our events over the Easter weekend, not least at our session in Hexham. Our aim was always to try to inspire young people aged between 15 and 17 to think positively about their futures, teach them new skills about themselves and life and build their self-confidence so they’re more ready to tackle the world.

“The truth is, I think me, Oba and everyone from Loud Speaker, NCS and Kingswood have been the ones left feeling totally inspired. Every single attendee gave it their all and challenged themselves in ways they hadn’t before. It was amazing to see their confidence grow more and more each day.”

The four-day event took place from Good Friday through to Tuesday 2nd April and was one of six such free events over the weekend, with others taking place in South Yorkshire, the Isle of Wight, North Wales, Kent and Norfolk.

Each of the events hosted a variety of outdoor activities, ranging from archery and climbing, to zip lines and high ropes. Workshops focused on building life, employability and enterprise skills and covered topics such as communication and marketing skills, personal branding and start up business coaching.

Dukeshouse Wood attendee Sharea Mushens said: “The Easter Weekender was absolutely incredible. I had so much fun with the activities and workshops. I made friends and reconnected with people from secondary school. Thank you so much for putting this on, it has helped me and I am sure helped so many all over the country. Your staff are also amazing and have made me realise I can achieve amazing things whilst being a young carer. I am incredibly grateful for the Easter Weekender - if there's another, I'd go!”