Warriors Academy Gap Year Program in South Africa

My son is currently half way through his gap year experience with Warriors. Family & friends have all seen the dramatic change in him. He was 16 when he started and emotionally very immature. He has learned to cope with mental, emotional and physical challenges whilst being the youngest in his group. I have seen a marked increase in his confidence and self esteem. He is in great shape physically now and so enthusiastic, not only about the next quest, but also about life in general.

The programme allows for high and lows. There is a fundamental principle that growth occurs during the lows. The life skills gained along the way are incredibly valuable. However, the highs are extraordinary and I find myself green with envy at what they get to experience.

I have a happier, more positive and engaged young man who is developing a road map for his future. What more can a parent ask for?

Our daughter was one of the very lucky girls to be selected for the Warriors Wasp programme in Oct 18. She had the most unbelievable and action packed few days of her life and has been simply buzzing about her experiences ever since!
Rowena and her team are incredible - inspiring, supporting and encouraging each young person to reach out of their comfort zone to experience amazing and adventurous challenges which they wouldn’t get elsewhere.
The whole trip was memorable and a huge boost in confidence - from abseiling 100 metres into a rock pool, bungee jumping, sky diving from 12,000 ft, caving and zip wiring as well as learning about conservation, visiting an elephant sanctuary and carrying out team building exercises in a fun way supported individually by dedicated, warm and experienced staff.
All in all a fantastic and life affirming time with great photos and video clips to prove it!
Would highly recommend! Thanks so much to all of you at Warriors!

As an educator who has sent 3 girls each year for the last 6 years I cannot recommend the Warriors Accelerated Scholarship programme (WASP) more highly. To watch a student when she has returned and witness the increased level of confidence and her awareness of the height and reach of her ability is wonderful. It is a truly mind changing experience for students done simply through a programme of outdoor experiences that are fun, demanding and involving team work. The staff are incredibly kind and considerate and will go the extra mile for each individual. Warriors offers an unique leadership programme that we, as a school, are grateful that we have been involved with and cannot recommend them more highly as an organisation particularly with regards to developing leadership skills and self belief for students in the sixth form .

My daughter went on WASP in half term October 2018. She had her 17th birthday there, a plus. This isn't the gap year programme, just a week's taster.
She rated it as "the best week of my life" and her only regret is that she ticked off everything on her bucket list. She says this week school seems totally flat.
I collected her after the long flight home and expected her to go to sleep in the car. Instead, she couldn't stop talking about the experiences she had. Looking at the videos I can't say that UK Health and Safety has made it to SA, but they all survived.
She recommends the programme wholeheartedly. Everything was top notch.

I am going to do my best to express my honest and most brief review. Bare with me if it gets a little long winded!

I grew up in the USA. I went through all 12 years of schooling in the US education system only to find that I needed something more. Life experience, was one thing that any school cannot teach you in a classroom.

In 2007 I attended the Warriors program for the full term and graduated with pride in my heart. The skills to tackle life outside of academics are essential, and for me Warriors showed me that I could train myself and thrive as an individual and take on the world without hesitation, without doubt, and yet, employ great discipline to my own benefit. The skills I needed were taught to me. And so much more.

Over the Warriors course I learned that, not only was I capable of just about anything I set my mind to, but that I could open my heart, and be true to myself to accomplish my own goals with tools I built myself. Through my own efforts, I could bring results.

I will admit, this course is not a vacation, it is not about perusing the exotic wilderness and urban sprawl that southern africa has to offer, at leisure.

This course is not a walk in the park, it is not for the faint of heart. At times I was pushed to the very limit of my being, but through the teachings given, I was prepared to face anything thrown at me. I was taught to overcome any hardship offered.

Warriors also gave me many of my fondest memories. To this day I look back at the friends I made, the experiences I had and the fulfillment that comes with knowing I accomplished more in seven months than I ever did in all my years in school and even now, everyday I think back to what I learned to use it in my life. I still use the tools given to me to reach out and take life by the horns and make my own.

I cannot recommend Warriors enough for anyone that is willing to give their all, to commit to changing their lives for the better, to bringing out the best qualities within themselves. This is not summer camp, it's not boarding school, it's not a retreat or cruise or any of that. It is not for the lazy, apathetic, or entitled. It is for anyone who is ready to find out what they are made of. It is a place where one may come, and with an open heart, learn how to find out who they are, what strengths and weaknesses they carry, and how to employ that into life and all its challenges. To accept and move with the flow of things. To put your worries and anger and other negative energies into something productive, useful, or helpful and make something out of life.

Warriors does more than teach. It enabled me to learn and grow in ways I never considered. It pushed me to the limits and back again. I experienced the full spectrum of life in a microcosm of itself and came out the otherside better prepared for whatever future might come.

Tim Phillips
Warrior - 07

All I can say to future warriors just give your all warriors has changed my life I use to have but now am fearless because I saw life in a different way and it has grown in me that life is all about taking risk and making good decisions all I can warriors is the best place to be all I can tell you enjoy have make some good memories make new friends and just enjoy the excitement of every task and exercise that are do there

Best year of my life, changed it all for the better, and still 10 years on feel a part of the family as I did when I was there.
I cannot recommend Warriors enough for everyone looking for a change of direction, a break from the norm, or a chance to find their passion.
This is an adventure you will never forget. The friends you make will last forever, and you'll become part of this (now global) family.

Warriors is a great program that helped me bridge the gap between high school and “the real world”. Warriors gave me the opportunity and skills to reflect on who I wanted to become, evaluate my options and focus on what I wanted my purpose to be. The TOLTEC portion of the gap year offers all the tools for self improvement and have been invaluable to me over the past 8 years. Coupled with the many excursions we went on both inside and outside of South Africa this is a truly once in a lifetime experience that I would recommend to anyone.