Giving a talk to State 6th Formers Next Month on Success

[motiv8ionalguru]

Fellow Mumsnetters,

I am to be the keynote speaker at South London state 6th form federation school next month. My speech, which will take approximately 45 minutes - 1 hour, will focus on high state school achievers in their 30's. The idea being that the students can visualise where they might be in 10 years from now. This institution has an unenviable reputation for drugs and crime, poor results and low aspiration. My address will (hopefully) illustrate what is possible 10 years from now. I am still penning the draft, though I have come up with the following individuals (from South London) who have achieved a lot in the 10 or so years since leaving their respective state schools. Could you help me identify any other pupils?

Euan Blair (London Oratory - now a high-flyer in the world of banking)
Paul Sackey (John Fisher School - England and Stade Francais rugby player)
Will Seaward (John Fisher - comedian and actor performing at Edin. Fringe)
Hayley Attwell (London Oratory - actress)
Johnny Lee Miller (Tiffin - actor)
Safety Fire (London Oratory - a band)
Oritse (London Oratory - JLS a rap group)
Rafe Spall (Haberdashery School - actor and son of Tim Spall)

Kind regards,

D.

If the OP has been selected to be a keynote speaker outside of his own bedroom then I'll show my arse in Fenwicks window

JLS- rappers

wannabe
And still not the silliest thing in that post.

"By telling them that the world is, quite literally, their oyster,"

If this was true you wouldn't be spending 25k a year educating your own children privately.

I too am torn between assuming this must be someone's idea of a joke, and worrying that the OP actually believes in what they have said here, and that somehow, a school has been convinced they know what they are talking about

It is a fascinting issue proposed as the older successful people mentioned not on the original list could be from times of more social mobility so picking those in their 30s is not a bad idea but are there any at all?

I suppose the first thing is what is success? I would certainly make the point that it can be internal happiness of course. Assuming the school means material success or being in the public eye then the best paid 30 sometimes from bad homes / areas in the Uk will probably be footballers or the occasional pop star, but it's pretty hard to get into that so not what we want to inspire or hold up false hope.

There are some inner London comps which have been getting chidlren into Oxbridge - when did Teach First start in London and has that cohort graduated and got into high paid jobs yet even if they are not famous people?

Most people in all walks of life are not famous in their 30s as it takes longer unless you are a sexy young singer or fit young footballer so in things like leading a business or being a surgeon you tend to be older.

All you need to do is Google young entrepreneurs and have a sort through. Obviously there are a lot from private school but there are several interesting state school examples.

I think steering away from famous pop stars or footballers is vital - so what if beckham went state? Unless you can play football like beckham the knowledge that he went to a school like yours is going to be useless to you.

Agreed, success can be measured many ways, but I presume the school means material success. How many schools will trundle in someone who works in Tesco but is happy as a figurehead of that school's success?

I hope a teacher from the school concerned will see this thread....

This type of speech needs to be delivered in year 11. By now the 6th formers have made their subject choices (or had the choices made for them by the school) based on how well they did in their GCSEs. All you can do is try and bolster their self-confidence and self-esteem and work ethic and not make any references to 'state school'.

Good point Doc, too late to talk of enabling subjects and the like.

I give about 50 talk s a year although only if I am paid high fees I'm afraid..... Women sell themselves too short.

Anyway what you need to try to do in a short talk is say things they will be interested in and remember. Most of them won't of course listen to a word of it and resent the waste of time but some will listen. I would think of some exciting opening lines, have some physical prop or other and perhaps set out how planning if a good thing to do so you have your 10 year plan and work towards goals and how important working hard and working smart is. Perhaps suggest everyone present aims to have no children within the next 10 years - start by holding up a condom and saying this is your key to riches. (If they are all fundamentalists Christians or Muslims too bad).

do me a favour OP.

For a start The John Fisher School (Purley, Surrey) was very selective when it educated the two 'successful thirty somethings' you mention. Will Seaward is the son of two barristers. Both students would have had to go through the selection policy.

I know of two boys who got into the school from our local catholic state primary in Burgess Hill (West Sussex) they had to pass an interview, as did their parents, and there were all manor of hurdles to jump. I believe the school has grown considerably since it stopped selecting its intake on the sly.

LO still selects like JF used to, hardly a bog standard comp. Your talk will do nothing to inspire the pupils.

One of our local comps has 2 MPs in the House of Commons, wouldn't they be a better choice to give this speech?

Isn't it telling that your inherent prejudice was to look immediately at state schools which were/remain highly selective.

Many pupils who attend these schools are of a similar ilk to your average public school kid.

The name escapes me, but there is another Catholic school for girls in Croydon which also used to cherry pick students from Sussex too, with the use of interviews and bursaries. Surely you can just educate your local catholic children? Why is there this need to cherry pick 'the best children'.

It's our schools which suffer the stigma of being looked down on for being completely non-selective.

if you're so enamoured with the likes of JF, LO, Tiffin and the Vaughan, why not encourage these sixth formers to achieve good grades and transfer to one of these schools in the Upper 6th form?

Do your examples have to be south London schools? The schools you mention are selective state schools and are largely affluent. What about: Ed Miliband, Kate Moss (author), Billy Twelvetrees, jk Rowling, Alan Sugar, Stella McCartney, Kiera knightly, Daniel Craig, Bradley wiggins. More inspirational than your list.

"but there is another Catholic school for girls in Croydon which also used to cherry pick students from Sussex too,"

Coloma?

This is the issue - are any children from the non selective/non posh state schools getting into good jobs by their 30s? Are they founding businesses? I think it's hard to find people from any sector at all except acting and sport who by such a young age as 30s are doing well.

Certaily London has had a massive change in terms of achievement of its inner London comps since Teach First etc but it also has some selective sixth forms (one linked to Eton I think and one with Lord Harris involved) and I am not sure those are comp because they might select by GCSE grades so it is a very muddle picture. Whereas if you went to my home town of Newcastle from about 1970 just about everyone has been in comprehensives other than a very few in private school. There is a not a state selective or state grammar for hundreds of miles.

DH works at a lot of the schools in that area - unlike most of the posters on this thread
Unless you understand skilled trades, back away from the talk right now ....

One of the teachers he dealt with had a persistent problem with a pupil who would not pay attention in science.
When challenged as to what she would do in life, the answer was
Model
And bless her, young Miss Moss did exactly that

Luck V. hard work
one makes the news
the other makes money
and ex private school kids who use parental connections into the magic circle are a crap role model

We don't have any state selective or grammar schools in our LA. I think the nearest is Heckmondwike Grammar School.

Exactly. London is a very different and special market with all kinds of schools in it.

The way to grip those sixth formers is with something funny and interesting but do assume only 20% will listen at all.

Janet
Motivating somebody to go somewhere involves understanding where they are.

Not where you think they should be

Not where you were at that time in your life

but where they are now

otherwise you are just pissing in the wind.

Directions from Glasgow to Edinburgh are useless if they start in Paris

Motivational speakers who do not understand where their audience are sitting are equally useless

and frankly should bog off to the places where they understand the map.

In your case North London Private schools and corporate law firms

in the Op's case, the upper floors of Canary wharf
but certainly not a school

I would talk to them about resilience.

And imposter syndrome.

I would tell them that passing exams and going to university is not enough. They have to play the social game too.

It's a tall order when you are facing other challenges in your life.

Ubik1

I would tell them that passing exams and going to university is not enough. They have to play the social game too.

WTF, I really wouldn't be telling them that. I dont think it's true.

I woud also be wary of using too many sporty people. They have a talent that has been coached outside school. Their success is often not down to the school at all. It is certainly not down to brilliant teaching. Although I do accept they are dedicated.

In addition, the notion that: "you can be what you want to be" is totally meaningless if the young person does not understand how to get exam grades and put themselves in the best possible light to potential university/college tutors and employers. If they just think they can rock up to university or employment with the minimum of effort, they are wrong. Young people are better advised to be realistic and work for what they want. Very many people cannot be what they want to be because they do not understand how to get there. It is your job to focus on what they need to do and not just list people who are super talented or who have influential parents.

I am never quite sure what "role models" actually bring to the party either. They are usually people who are very bright, very talented or, as described above, have wealth and influential parents. Role models only inspire the really talented who may well have got there anyway. Therefore you may not grab the attention of the majority with this list. Much as we all love Jesica Ennis Hill, there is only one of her out of 66m people in this country. The rest of us do not appear to be inspired to emulate her - because we can't! Ed Milliband - he was not well connected then? His whole upbringing was surrounded by influential politicians and political debate in his home. He never went into the real world of work either. No, do not mention him!! Kate Moss may not be a very bright suggestion either - she took cocaine didn't she? That says you can do drugs and still earn millions. She also has the money to go into rehab. Ordinary people do not and turn to a life of crime to get the drugs. Her modeling potential was spotted, but had nothing to do with school or exam results!

I would try and illustrate the talk with young people who may have been refugees, have achieved well in business, become well qualified through hard work and have achieved a lot from a disadvantaged start. What skills did they hone? What attributes do they have? How did they overcome adversity?

I doubt very much that the institution you are going into - unless it is a young offenders' institution (which it is not) - would recognise itself from the way you describe it. I might be pretty cross if I was the Head that you thought it was such a dump. I might want to get to know it better before you roll up and make a patronising speech. What does their latest Ofsted report say, for example? So many schools have improved, this school may no longer be what you think it is.

I would also get the name of Rafe Spall's school correct, should you use it.

If you change "social game" to "social skills" - I do think this is important. Employers do look for this. It comes down to being friendly, polite, reliable, dressing in an appropriate manner, being able to converse with others and definitely showing these attributes at an interview - no employer is keen on someone who is socially inept. It is not about going to networking events and evenings at the bar.