"I CAN BE" The Mintridge Foundation visits The Ferrers School with Jordan Jarrett - Bryan & Jack Fleckney To Inspire Students
"I CAN BE" The Mintridge Foundation visits The Ferrers School with Jordan Jarrett - Bryan & Jack Fleckney To Inspire Students
“Find the thing you are very good at and the thing that you like, combine them both and turn that into your career.”
“In challenging situations, you find the best in humans.”
Day One
Jordan Jarrett-Bryan inspired the students at The Ferrers School during their careers day to be the best they can be and take one the world!
When talking about discipline, accepting responsibility, and challenging yourself outside of your comfort zone, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan is the perfect person to talk about how he demonstrates this in his current life in the media and during his life as an athlete. The Ferrers School welcomed former GB wheelchair basketball player and Channel 4 News presenter, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to come and speak to the students during their careers day, to inspire them on their own journeys to success and share more with them about how they can be involved in sport and the media.
The students at The Ferrers School took part in a whole range of events throughout their careers day, and the incredibly inspiring Jordan was just one of the brilliant presentations that the students could attend to help them dream big and work towards their own goals.
“I grew to really love wheelchair basketball because I was good at it and managed to also find something that I loved in my creative writing. So I combined them both to make a career out of it!”
When talking about the beginning of his life and career, Jordan told the students, “You are more than what your grades say about you. However, you need to want to work hard and you need to want to be the best at what you want to do to stand out from the crowd… You will never lose out by having qualifications and a degree, the value of an education is very important. You can though have a lot of skills that don’t need a qualification.”
The students loved learning from Jordan and very quickly realised that Jordan was someone who had achieved big things but had started the road to success in the same position as them when he was at school.
It was very encouraging for the students to hear how Jordan had put himself in the right position to become successful and had worked very hard at his craft, and put a lot of time in to seeking out opportunities for himself which have helped him get to where he is today.
At a time in their lives when the students are unsure about the path they will choose and not knowing what they want to do when they leave school, Jordan reiterated the importance of enjoying your profession and choosing a job not for the money but for the love of it.
Jordan said he worked a lot in his youth for free trying to get experience and exposure and said to the students, “I want you to think more about what you are passionate about and what makes you excited to get up in the morning as that is definitely what you should do for the rest of your life, money aside…You spend a lot of years working so why not choose something that you enjoy and you are good at.”
The students throughout the day had the opportunity to ask Jordan some questions and some of the best questions from the students on this careers day were;
How did it feel to conduct your first interview?
How did you get to play for GB?
Have you met Anthony Joshua?
Who is your least favourite person you have interviewed?
Who did you look up to when you first started your job?
Can you play running basketball?
Who do you want to interview?
If you could bring someone back from the dead to interview who would it be?
Where have you travelled with your job?
If you were offered any amount of money would you quit your job would you?
The students at The Ferrers School were incredibly inspired by Jordan and his words of advice about taking opportunities, working hard towards your goals and opening your eyes to new opportunities outside of your comfort zones and the place that you live.
Thank you very much to the staff at The Ferrers School for helping to organise this brilliant careers day programme with Jordan and we hope that the students go on to achieve great things on their own journeys.
Day Two
Returning the following day to the Ferrers School was our newest Ambassador here at the Mintridge Foundation. Jack Fleckney is an Adventurer built to take on challenges with one key purpose; to make a difference and that is what he wished to share with the Year 10 students as part of their Careers Day. Best of all, he was an old student here, so was very happy to be back to his old stomping ground.
“Your PE teacher, Miss York used to call me Keeno because I was always out playing rugby at any opportunity!”
Jack had great clarity in his objectives for the day; to ensure that the students left with the vision and aspiration to go onto achieve whatever they want to. The tools to get there are simple:
To have an objective. To have a passion. To have a purpose.
“If you don’t have a passion, that’s on you. Go and try new things!”
Jack worked with five groups throughout the day, and he took each of them on his journey from life as a rugby player, into the Royal Marines, setting up a gym franchise and now as an adventurer. Jack ensured that amongst the exciting imagery of kayaking alongside hippos and videos of World Record challenges, that he would always bring the focus back to the individuals before him. Jack encouraged everyone to see through his story that when you chip away at something “one press up at a time”, with clear goals and checkpoints and understanding that failing is part of the process, the possibilities are endless.
““I was making every negative into a positive.””
Jack had a brilliant nature with the students and ensured that he always gave himself one on one time to speak to each person but equally encouraging each of them to think about what they can do from today to help their aspirations. F1 Engineers, to professional sportspeople through to vets were all aspirations in the room but for those that didn’t know, the push to follow your passion is paramount in Jack’s eyes.
“What is the most dangerous situation that you have ever been in?”
The questions at the end of the sessions were great to see how much excitement there was about Jack’s challenges and after recently touching down from an incredible African Expedition, many of the questions centred about the conditions and the mindset that kept him going through the toughest of situations.
Thank you very much to the Ferrers staff for welcoming Jordan, Jack and the Mintridge team to join you for the two days alongside some other fascinating employers from so many industries, we really enjoyed ourselves and we look forward to hearing how everyone’s career ideas take off! According to an analysis by Education and Employers, a strong, statistically significant relationship between participation in career development activities and more positive attitudes towards the utility of schooling were found. The most consistent positive effects are found in relationship to speaking with a Careers Advisor in school and attending a Job fair which was certainly seen with the buzz around school.
“Thank you very much for your support with the recent Year 10 Career Days, and as usual the team didn’t disappoint. It is a real pleasure to have you in the school to work with our students. As I walked around from session to session over the 2 days, I kept hearing positive little snippets from students talking about either Jordan and Jack.
The students were determined to get as much as they could out of the sessions they were going to.
It was fantastic to see so many individuals and businesses keen to inspire and enthuse our young people. We not only appreciate the time taken in preparing for the event but also the time involved in being out of your organisation.
Thank you for your contribution to the Year 10 event and look forward to working with you again.
”
Have a brilliant summer everyone!
If you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with Jordan Jarrett- Bryan and Jack Fleckney or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website or with Katie.
The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.
Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as Fitswarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.
The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.
The Mintridge Foundation
Unit 4, Shieling Court
Northfolds Road
Corby
Northants
NN18 9QD
Tel: +44 (0) 1536 447106
www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk
