When the new graduates join the UKAEA graduate scheme, everyone mentioned “Skern Lodge”; a mysterious event where all the graduates were shipped out to do outdoor activities and team building exercises on the coast of Devon. Due to the climate of the world at that point in time (hands, face, space) it seemed unclear if the 2020 and 2021 graduates would ever be able to have the experience of Skern and the stories to go with it. However, by a stroke of luck with a lot of planning and precautions, a trip to Skern Lodge was planned for November 2021!
It may be important to note here, as I recount one experience (my own) that there were at least 60 graduates on this trip, so anything said here is not a reflection on how the whole cohort felt about Skern; this is a simply personal account (though stay tuned for quotes from some of the other graduates near the end!). I also don’t want to spoil too much of the actual activities from Skern (in case any sneaky future grads come here for information) so this will be more of a general overview.
With those disclaimers out of the way, here is one graduate’s account of their week at Skern Lodge!
The run up to Skern seemed to go slowly and then very fast. Excitement and nerves (let’s be honest, mainly nerves) kept building until most of us were bundled onto a coach and we were off. Before we knew it, we were all standing in the car park area in front of the Skern Lodge Outdoor Activity Centre, being assigned to the rooms we would call home till Friday.
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| Pictured: Skern Grads braving the elements to do the High Ropes |
Another thing to note about the overall experience of Skern; we went in November. Normally this is not the case, but it did mean it was cold. Cold, rainy, and windy for a lot of the week which could have put a damper on the experience but surprisingly it did not (for me at least). The week consisted of outdoor activities and more classroom-based activities/learning in groups. These groups had been given a trial run on the first evening with the classic egg drop competition which, due to the caliber of engineers and other scientists present, I found way more exciting than normal.
A lot of the more physical activities for the week such as the climbing wall were more about what the instructors loved to say, “challenge by choice”. No one was forced to do anything they didn’t want to do but were also given a safe environment to push themselves if they wanted. The teams (yes more on that plot twist later) I found myself apart of seemed to embrace this challenge and genuinely offered as much moral support and encouragement as humanly possible leaving a positive imprint on activities that otherwise I would have backed away from (heights, just heights).
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| Pictured: Skern Grads crossing the High Ropes on a more sunny day |
The classroom activities were focused on theories of leadership and teamwork – skills and concepts we were able to practice by the middle of the week as we were told we were all going to be leading activities (under the watch of the instructors for safety of course) BUT it was also mid-week when the plot thickened. The instructors had seen the teams forming (though some grew closer than others) and decided that it was time to shake things up and shuffle the teams. This meant that by the end of the week the graduates were leading their peers through different activities, in teams with completely new dynamics and again I was blessed with a very fun team to be around, and my good but very active time continued. Sadly, by the time those teams had started to develop, it was time to get back on the coach home and at this point it was clear that was probably for the best as everyone seemed quite tired. I certainly slept very well that evening at least!
And that is the general overview of what Skern was for our group and I personally found it to be a lot of fun. I pushed myself way harder than I would have otherwise, and I felt rewarded for doing so. The information I was taught at Skern seemed to sink in at points and when I returned to my role at UKAEA I can't deny I felt a little different. So, to any of the future years of UKAEA graduates that happen to stumble upon this blog post, I would say if you are ever given the opportunity to go (and I hope you are) then I would really consider it. The experience is not for everyone, but it is certainly worth a go and who knows, you might find that you are far more capable than you thought you were!
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| Pictured: Skern Grads rowing out onto the River Torridge |
That is enough from me but to finish off I asked a few of the other graduates for what they thought of Skern, and their comments are below for your reading pleasure!
"I was pleasantly surprised how valuable the trip to Skern was. It was a really good way to get to know other grads in an environment that was more relaxed than the office but still guided enough to not be chaotic. And the fast boat was great fun!"
“I think for me, Skern was just a good opportunity for everyone to get together and do fun things together. Starting in the pandemic meant that any interaction we had with each other was purely based on who was active online or who would respond to random meet ups. Not to mention this was entirely localised to our specific year group. Not to say that there's anything wrong with not being a social butterfly, but it was nice to finally talk to people who you normally wouldn't be able to talk to. Felt that Skern helped us grow as a cohort and more. Most importantly, it was just good fun.”
“I had a great time at Skern Lodge! It was lovely to get to know the intake of graduates below me and put some faces to the names I'd seen on Teams! I enjoyed getting to find out what leadership qualities I had and what I could improve on whilst getting some fresh air and having some fun!”
“I didn't believe I was going to take as much out of the week as I did; it's all well and good learning about these skills from a classroom but applying the skills first-hand while halfway up some high ropes makes it that bit more relatable! The instructors are all so nice, and there is a very safe and friendly atmosphere throughout the whole week, I absolutely recommend going!”