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KINGSWOOD IN FOCUS 2020-21 | ACADEMIC
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT Despite the obvious challenges of the pandemic, it has actually presented us with a unique opportunity to enhance our Enrichment programmes. Linda Cruse
Justin Webb
Geography is no longer a barrier with the inception of Microsoft Teams, and means we have been able to tap into a pool of visiting speakers all over the world, while sitting in the comfort of our own living room. The absolute highlight of our speaker programme this year has to be hearing from John McCarthy, who was held as a hostage in Lebanon for more than five years. What struck me most was his unwavering optimism and hopefulness in light of such extreme struggle. His resilience and courage are quite extraordinary and we could all learn a great deal from his attitude. It is astounding and inspiring to think he would happily shake the hands of his captors and talk about their differences. From a personal perspective, hearing from John made me reflect on some
of the difficulties of my own day to day life. I hope I can speak on behalf of the School community in saying that he had a huge impact on so many of us who heard him speak. We also had the privilege to hear from Chris Jewell, who was one of a team of British cave divers who risked their lives to save a group of young boys and their football coach after they became stranded for 18 days, deep underground in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. Based just down the road in Cheddar, Chris lives quite an ‘ordinary’ life as an accountant, but told a story that was quite extraordinary and inspired our community. Chris’s story was one of bravery, resilience, leadership and teamwork. Climate Change is an issue that undoubtedly affects us all, and
so I really wanted to bring in someone who would inspire and enthuse our school community to make a difference. Niall McCann was the perfect fit. Niall is a frontline conservationist who is the executive director of National Park Rescue. He first led a Q and A with our Year 9 students which was hugely insightful. He then spoke to the students about his own adventures and the inextricable links between global biodiversity
