Rays of Sunshine, Positivity & Empowerment: Former England Netball Captain Visits the Bedfordshire Schools Trust
Rays of Sunshine, Positivity & Empowerment: Former England Netball Captain Visits the Bedfordshire Schools Trust
As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, Mintridge Strategic Land is committed to sponsoring a Mintridge Foundation mentoring programme in every community that they are active in. This wonderful opportunity gave two of the Bedfordshire Schools Trust Academies the opportunity to enjoy a fully funded programme with former England Netball Captain, Pamela Cookey.
On Tuesday 25th June, the Mintridge Foundation Ambassador, Pamela made her way to Bedfordshire to offer the students at Gothic Mede and Etonbury Academies an aspirational encounter like no other! The day happened to fall into Small Charity Week too; a week to amplify, support and connect small charities like ours right across the UK.
Being smaller means small charities are agile and can pivot to respond quickly to new and emerging needs, BUT it can also leave us more exposed to challenges. Having supporters like Mintridge Strategic Land enables us to deliver our programmes and help more young people to have a positive relationship with sport. To have our invaluable work fully recognised and supported by a corporate organisation like Mintridge Strategic Land empowers us to achieve more.
Sports role models inspire thousands of people who follow their quest to achieve, win and overcome obstacles and this is exactly how 114 Internationally Capped Pamela Cookey started her day at Gothic Mede Academy. Pamela shared with the students in years 2, 3 and 4 what attitude she needed from a VERY young age to achieve her dreams. The students listened intently before the year 3 students made their way to the playground for some netball in the sun, sun, sun! Some core skills were learnt and we can’t wait to hear what is to come in sport and beyond for these children.
“Be the best that you can be. Follow your own path and never have any regrets!”
The afternoon was spent a short distance away at Etonbury Academy where Pamela delivered an empowering presentation about her unique sporting journey. This element is so much more about how far Pamela has travelled rather than the end destination so that the audience in front of her can relate to their own stories. The messages that Pamela received in her “Aspirations Post Box” at the end of the session show that the impact was quite significant. Pamela also talks about how preparation is key and this was shown in leaps and bounds during this session - the questions that the students had prepared in advance was extraordinary!
, The presentation (and obligatory selfies and autographs) was followed by a coaching session with the netballers within the school. This helped them hone some skills and even receive a pass from an England Legend!
We are looking forward to seeing the results of Pamela’s Etonbury Core Challenge that she set for the GCSE and BTEC students in her classroom session at the end of the day. This enabled the students to link back to their curriculum into the psychology of overcoming an injury to the strength and conditioning required to be at the very top of the netball game. Don’t be shy, anyone can have a go at the circuit, whether you were there on the day or not! Enjoy…
How many cycles can you do of the following circuit?
30 SECOND PLANK
10 X CLIMBER TAPS
5 X PLANK WALKOUTS
20 X FLUTTER KICKS
10 X CLIMBER TAPS
5 X ARM & LEG RAISES
Thank you to Gothic Mede and Etonbury Academies for the warmest of welcomes (in all sense of the word on the hottest day of the year) and to everyone at the Bedfordshire Schools Trust. We hope to see you all soon. Read about Pamela’s visit in the Biggleswade Chronicle just here and the Comet jut here.
About Us:
The Mintridge Foundation is a UK-wide charity dedicated to turbo-boosting young people's development and opportunities through the transformative power of sports. Our innovative programs and collaborations inspire, mentor, and guide the next generation to thrive.