Alfie Benson, a trainee teacher at Ormiston Academies Trust’s Suffolk campus, has undertaken a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Malaysia and Australia as part of a worldwide Jamboree experience.
Alfie took part in the event alongside 10,000 other scouts and leaders, who came together to share experiences and build life skills across teamwork, communication, resilience, and responsibility.
Throughout the 3-week long experience, the young explorers had the chance to discover breathtaking nature including snorkelling with turtles in the Great Barrier Reef, meeting Kangaroos and Koalas, and trying some of the local street food in Malaysia’s busy metropolis of Kuala Lumpur.
As part of their adventures, the scouts also tried thrilling jamboreeing activities such as archery, abseiling, and zip-lining.
Alfie’s decision to join the expedition comes as part of his passion for helping young people, consolidated by his recent completion of his teacher training with Ormiston Teacher Training. Sharing his experience of becoming an educator, he referenced his own experiences in school, saying “I had some great teachers that helped me make a breakthrough and see how the hard work was paying off. I was always interested in helping others, so teaching became a fairly natural path.”
Since then, Alfie has successfully continued his training and looks forward to taking a leading role in the classroom as part his full-time role at East Bergholt High School, helping more young people to access exciting opportunities as part of their wider learning and development.
Speaking on his experience, Alfie said: “It has really reaffirmed that I like working with young people and enabling them to have the opportunities to experience everything they possibly can in life – whether that be through practical skills and adventures in Scouting or academic learning in school. I am so glad I was able to go and see the world out there – I always thought Australia was so far but once you have done it once it feels like it opens up the world to you.”
Rooted in national research, expert support, and adapted to local contexts, applications for Ormiston Teacher Training’s 2025 course are open now, with spaces still available at the Suffolk campus and across the other campuses (Staffs, West Midlands and Norfolk) for aspiring teachers to apply.
Kaye Patrick, Director of Initial Teacher Training, Ormiston Academies Trust, said: “We are extremely proud to see how young educators like Alfie are jumping into exciting opportunities such as the Scout Jamboree, and to see first-hand how it’s helping them to become more rounded teachers and bring interesting life experiences to the young people they support.
“As part of Ormiston Teacher Training, we’re thrilled to be supporting the next generation of teaching talent as part of our innovative training programme, which brings together national expertise and community-led learning, welcoming aspiring educators from all backgrounds to explore their passion for teaching, inside and outside of the classroom.”
Read more about Alfie’s teacher training journey here.
