Paralympian great inspires pupils at TIGHS
Pupils at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Sixth Form College (TIGHS) welcomed Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of the Britain’s most successful Paralympians, to inspire them to take up the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Silver Award.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, a member of the House of Lords, is Chair of Trustees of the DofE and discussed the endless opportunities of the Silver Award challenge, while also sharing her inspirational personal story with pupils.
An 11-time gold medal winner in wheelchair racing across five Paralympic games, Baroness Grey-Thompson spoke at length about her determination to be the best in her discipline. She also explained the significant barriers she had to overcome when entering the world of politics in 2010, when she became an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords, where she campaigns on disability rights and sport.
Whilst challenging pupils to aim for the sky with their future aspirations, Baroness Grey-Thompson also gave extra motivation for pupils to pursue the next stage of their DofE experience by progressing from the Bronze Award to Silver.
Over the last seven years, hundreds of TIGHS pupils have completed the Bronze Award and the school is now finalising plans to offer the Silver Award to its sixth form pupils to further advance their resilience and character.
Speaking about why she got involved with the Award, Baroness Grey-Thompson said:
“I never did the DofE when I was younger, but my sister did the Gold Award and I know what it meant to her and how life changing it was for her.
“I was then invited to Gold Award presentations and met these amazing young people who have all done incredible things. They talk about what they found really hard but also how they came out the other side. It’s just amazing the opportunity it gives young people.”
Alongside the physical challenges that young people have to complete for the Silver Award, volunteering also forms an important part of the qualification. Participants are tasked with completing at least six months of voluntary work in the community. Citizenship is a core part of TIGHS’ leadership specialism, which emphasises the importance of civic responsibility, charity and social action. The voluntary element of the Silver Award feeds into the school’s established community programme, which aims to promote community service, social impact and charitable giving.
Acknowledging the importance of young people serving their community, Baroness Grey-Thompson added:
“The Silver Award gives young people ideas on what to do in terms of volunteering and instils the importance of giving back to their community. I think a lot of young people want to make a change to society and the Duke of Edinburgh awards enables them to do it.”
Pupils also benefited from a speech by the Duke of Edinburgh’s CEO, Ruth Marvel, on the subject of leadership. She explained how the award can play an important role in developing character.
Ruth Marvel said:
“I think volunteering is one of the best kept health secrets – it makes you happy and the chance to make someone’s day better is really powerful.
“It teaches young people what they’re capable of, that they can be reliable, responsible and that they can solve problems.”
Added By: Star Academies | Date Added: 28th Mar 2023 | Posted In: Latest News