The range of speakers we have the privilege of welcoming to DGS continues to be very exciting! On Wednesday 2nd May Paralympic Champion Menna Fitzpatrick and her guide Jennifer Kehoe were here to inspire students with their story.

At the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games, Menna became Britain’s most successful Winter Paralympian as she claimed slalom gold, super combined silver, giant slalom silver and super-G bronze. Her guide, Jen, assists her through a high-tech blue tooth fitted helmet as they ski. Menna’s achievements are incredible and inspirational, particularly in light of the fact that she only has 5% visibility. She brought her goggles with her for students to try on and gain a sense of just how little she can see. Menna and Jen also brought along a range of impressive (and very heavy!) medals for us to look at and hold.

The visit lasted just over an hour, with Menna and Jen spending the first half with the PE Ambassadors, Ethos Leaders and Year 10 Deputy House Captains for a small seminar discussion. The second half in Cockcroft Hall involved all of Year 7, who were spellbound by the talk and asked an eclectic range of very impressive questions!

The main message Menna and Jen gave to us today was that a dream or passion is worth pursuing if it means enough to you. I felt particularly inspired to learn that Menna had declared her intention to become a Paralympian to her TA at Primary School and pursued this dream wholeheartedly since then. The fact that Menna is a Paralympic Champion with such limited visibility should reassure us that anything is possible should we set our minds to it!