2nd February 2024
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
INSPIRE, MOTIVATE, ACHIEVE A huge congratulations to Megan Andrews, Alfie Evans, Jonathan Hardington, Taya Kutsan, Harry Mackay, Ivy Murkowski, Lenny Pyne and Maggie Smith who all received awards at the Jack Petchey Achievement Award ceremony held at Alec Hunter School on Tuesday night. The Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme is their flagship programme which recognises outstanding young people aged 11-25 across London and Essex. The event itself was excellent. There was a real sense of community and a can-do attitude throughout the night. Honywood shared the stage with award winners from a range of local schools and clubs. It was lovely to see our learners on stage whilst hearing about their achievements in our community.
“If you think you can, you can!” The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up by Sir Jack Petchey CBE to inspire and celebrate young people. Since 1999, over £160 million has been invested in programmes to benefit young people aged 11-25 across London and Essex. Sir Jack Petchey set up the Jack Petchey Foundation to inspire young people across London and Essex to work hard and reach their full potential. Sir Jack is an incredible inspiration to everyone who works at the Foundation. Even at 98 he takes an active interest in the running of the charity, as do the rest of his family who share his vision. He was born into a working class family in the East End in 1925, left school at 13 and then joined the Navy in 1943. After leaving the Navy, he began working as a clerk for a solicitor’s firm. He applied for
management training but was told he would never make a businessman. Instead of giving up, Sir Jack used the £39 he was given from the Navy to buy a second hand car and started a taxi business. Through hard work and innovative thinking, he proved them wrong and built a multi-million-pound empire. Sir Jack’s experiences led to his passion to increase young peoples’ aspirations by rewarding their achievements. The other big programme is the “Speak Out” Challenge!, the world’s largest public speaking competition for young people.
On Tuesday a group of C10 learners spent the day taking part in the Speak Out Challenge workshops. Learners spent the day developing their skills at speaking confidently in public. Nine learners Freddie Brooks, Freddie Dorling, Pru Duffy, Emma Julien, Faye Longstaff, Izzy Owen, Ella Pinkham, Amelie Rees and Poppy Tilyard have progressed to the next phase, presenting their speech to an assembly for C9s. Out of those nine, two will be chosen to represent the school in the North Essex Final. We have made it through January now and the nights are starting to draw out. Here’s looking at warmer things to come. Have a lovely weekend
James Saunders