Students set to be inspired

20/01/2012

Great British athletics legend Steve Cram will be giving a talk to inspire students at Nottingham’s Bulwell Academy to achieve success in their exams this summer.

Yorkshire Bank’s Nottingham Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) has organised for the former World, European and Commonwealth gold medallist, who is an ambassador of the Bank, to give a presentation to students from years 10 and 11 plus their parents and staff as part of their partnership with the academy through the Business in the Community’s Business Class programme.

Steve is regarded as one of the finest middle distance runners of all time, setting world records throughout the 1980s and winning silver over 1,500m at the 1984 Olympics. His 800m time from the 1986 Commonwealth Games still stands as a record and won’t be broken until at least 2014, when the Games return to the UK in Glasgow.

The middle distance runner will be focusing on the psychology of success during the visit to Bulwell Academy in Squires Avenue, Bulwell, on Wednesday, February 22.

Carl Dickinson, Managing Partner at Yorkshire Bank’s Financial Solutions Centre in Castle Meadow Road, said Steve’s presentation would give students a confidence boost during their revision time.

He said: “Our Business Class partnership with Bulwell Academy, a programme run by Business in the Community, was established to build proper long-term relationships between local businesses and local schools.

“Visits such as this are part of that partnership as hearing from one of British athletics’ most successful ever runners can only help to encourage the students.

“Steve is a fantastic ambassador for Yorkshire Bank and he will be discussing whether you are born a winner or if you can achieve your dreams through showing a tremendous amount of determination and drive and channelling it in the right direction.

“He will then run a session for the school’s leadership team about what they can learn from a positive coach/mentor relationship.”

Alison Bingham, Director of Business and Enterprise at Bulwell Academy, said this was a fantastic opportunity for students studying for the critical end of year exams to focus on being ‘winners’.

“Steve is an inspirational speaker and he will be telling the teenagers that their future career prospects are in their hands,” she said.

“He will be emphasising that it takes effort to achieve good grades and that the right attitude and determination will be vital in achieving their career goals.

“Steve showed his positive mindset throughout his athletic career because he wouldn’t have achieved his medals without showing the right discipline needed to succeed.

“Our students have the chance to be ‘winners’ in a number of ways because we have a great new academy, some brilliant teachers and a community, particularly the business community, who are prepared to invest their time and expertise to help them become winners.

“We hope Steve’s presentation will inspire the students as they enter the final stages of their GCSEs to think about their future and that one last big effort on their part will reap rewards in their chosen careers.

“We have considerable energy and enthusiasm among the teaching staff to encourage our students to achieve the best results possible because their success is our greatest achievement at the end of each school year.”