A tale of extremes, perseverance, passion and determination was told as British adventurer James Ketchell took to the stage as our Inspirational Speaker. Through his experiences and stories of triumph, kindness and adversity, he shared some of his key life learnings with the children, many of which echoed our schools values.
“If you put in effort, doors of opportunity will open for you".
Following a motorbike accident, James was determined to get better so he could live his dream: to row the Atlantic. This he achieved single-handedly, having rowed for 110 days, 4 hours and 4 minutes – 40 days longer than the anticipated crossing time.
Following this mammoth achievement, a friend suggested to James that if he could row the Atlantic, he could climb Mount Everest - and this became his next challenge. James shared how getting sponsorship for the climb took six months of writing emails and letters. He explained to the children how easy it would have been to give up. “If you learn to do things when you don’t feel like doing them, you will be doing more than most people and good things will happen.”
During his third challenge (cycling around the world) and fourth challenge (flying a gyrocopter around the world), James met and made friends with so many people from different countries, many of whom helped him along the way. He gave back by speaking at schools across the world as he completed his challenges.
“Treat people how you would like to be treated. This is the most important thing I can share with you.”
The children were awed by his stories and afterwards many crowded around to ask more questions. After the talk, one Year 7 pupil said: "He was an amazing speaker and he just kept going on his journey no matter what. He really showed us what perseverance means."
We are sure his messages will stay with the children for a long time to come.
