Kieran Andrews

Kieran Andrews

I work at Uplands Uplands Manor Primary School in Smethwick. I have lived in Smethwick all my life, and I am 21. 

I love Smethwick and I love the community. The community has a good vibe and it feels like everybody's connected. There are always things going on around here, activities and events and I try to go to a lot of them. It’s just a nice feeling being in Smethwick.

So, I'm an ICT technician at a primary school and every day is different.  When I was little, I used to play a lot on computers and then as I got older I started looking into the inside of computers and working out how they work. And eventually, I started building my own. 

I am a scout leader. It’s a scout group not far from Warley woods. I run the Beaver Section with a lady called Jayne and we do lots of different activities such as learning to put up tents and tie knots ropes. And then we also do the arts and crafts side of it. And then we also get out into the community, supporting Remembrance Day Parades. We do activities for St Georges's Day, and we will also be helping out at Picnic in the Park at Warley Woods this year where we will help with the litter picking. 

I'm also a part of the District Executive Committee, so that's above the group level where we make decisions on different events that are going to happen.

The main thing that being a scout leader gives me is the sense of seeing the scout's face when you have taught them something new. I love seeing how excited they get when they learn something new. And also it is about helping to build their confidence as well. I actually went through the process myself. I started when I was five and I worked my way through the beavers, cub's, scouts and then eventually I became a young leader. I remember how I wasn't very confident back then. And then I saw how my own confidence just grew as I went through the ranks. So now I am there to help children experience what I experienced. It's always a nice feeling to be able to just look back and think, “I remember when this child wasn’t very confident when he first started, and now he's leaving and moving on to the next section.” It just brings a good feeling.

For me, community is all about getting people together. So for example, the Christmas and summer Faye at the Dorothy Parks, it is about the all the community getting together and having a good time together. It’s a good feeling.

My thoughts for the future about working with young people give them the skills so they can keep on the right path. That’s part of the reason why I do the scouts.