Gladstone Scholars Induction at the Gladstone Library

On Thursday, 40 Year 12s, who had the deserved honour of being selected as Gladstone Scholars (the school´s prefects), ventured to the private library of William Ewart Gladstone, a founding father of the College and arguably Britain’s most important and influential prime minister. Gladstone´s library is a fantastic example of late-Victorian architecture, with the library itself housing around 100,000 rare and one of a kind books of which 44,000 belonged to Gladstone’s private collection. The beautiful white washed chapel with views across the garden and the rolling expanses of the Flintshire countryside, provided the location for the first of several team building and leadership tasks we would carry out that day. We began with a course led by Mr Leeder where we learnt the attributes of a leader, the ideal leaders and culminating in a test which ranked what type of leader we were. This was then followed by a series of situational tests whereby we were given hypothetical situations that we would face as scholars and had to solve the predicaments in groups. We took a small break and enjoyed a delicious two course lunch in the elegantly wood panelled dining room.


The afternoon session commenced with the practical element course which involved a series of problem-solving activities. For example, we had to guide a blindfolded partner across a field littered with cones which they could not step on, therefore they were reliant upon the commands of their partners, it meant we had to utilise key leadership, communication and commanding skills to complete the task.
Throughout the day some of us were lucky enough to go on a tour of Gladstone´s private collections of books on the humanity subjects, where there were books ranging from the subject of the French revolution to cabinet dispatches.


The day culminated in the awarding of the prefect badges under the fanfare of applause we were entrusted with the power, responsibility and authority of a Gladstone Scholar. Thank you to Mr Brady, Mr Leeder, Dr McNamara and Miss Miller for organising a very enjoyable and informative trip. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Liverpool College Foundation who sponsored and financed the trip.

Brendan R

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