2016 Chevening Relay launched

The Chevening Relay has begun again, the aim of which is to encourage Cheveners to collaborate, network, be creative and take collective responsibility for a common goal. Whilst scholars are on their award, they are also encouraged to travel around and visit the cultural and natural wonders on offer here in the UK. The Chevening Relay is a great way for our scholars to visit new and exciting cities other than their own.  

The Chevening Relay consists of two batons, one red and one blue, which are to be passed from scholar to scholar all over the UK. This requires scholars in different cities to contact and meet each other to ensure the batons pass onto a new city and continue their journey.

Let’s take a look at the launch of the red and blue batons:

Chevening Relay: Red Baton Launch

23/11/16 – Woodstock (Blenheim Palace), England, UK

The red Chevening Relay baton was officially launched at Blenheim Palace where scholars had met for the day to visit the architecturally stunning, Blenheim Palace. On arrival, the scholars met up with their tour guides who provided them with an insight into the colourful history of those that previously lived in the palace including former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

The honour was bestowed upon Jamaican scholar Kemesha Kelly, who kick-started the red baton’s journey.

The day ended with the scholars networking as they toured the palace grounds.

Chevening Relay: Blue Baton Launch

29/11/16 – Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Scholars who attended the day were treated to two events before they were officially handed the baton. As part of the Best of Britain series of events, scholars were first given the opportunity to visit the Scottish Parliament.

Jamaican Chevening Scholar and attendee of the tour, Nicolette Bryan comments, ‘throughout the tour, we learnt of the architectural influences behind the design of the building; the meeting rooms which have walls made of glass are a tell-tale symbol of the Scottish Parliament’s commitment to transparency. It is the only parliament building in the world with a triple rating from the Carbon Trust and the parliamentary sessions are live streamed so that citizens can watch decisions being taken in real-time!’

Scholars then arrived at the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), where they attended lunch and had a chance to network before attending a lecture opened by the Vice President, Professor Marian Scott and General Secretary Professor, Alan Alexander.

The event was rounded off with light refreshments, canapes, and time for photo opportunities. It was here that the honour of being the first to receive the blue baton and to send it on its way was given to Nicolette Bryan, one of our current social media ambassadors.

You can follow the progress of all the batons as they travel over the next few months through the #CheveningRelay hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Full details of the Chevening Relay, the latest whereabouts of the batons and the current scores can all be found on the Chevening Relay page.

Here at Chevening, we caught up with last year’s winner of the 2016 Chevening Relay, Ryan Sakti. Ryan, an Indonesian alumnus from the Class of 2015 who studied Law at Cardiff University told us how it felt to have won the competition and provided a little background information surrounding his winning entry in the video below.