Greetings from St Bede’s

Dispelled for the moment are any thoughts of spring as the winter continues!

Offers of place for the 2022 year were made this week. In one breath it is disappointing to have to turn down so many applicants, but encouraging for the College that so many find the place desirable. Interviews of successful applicants began this week.

As we prepare to accept the new cohort of Year 9s, we also continue to transition our Year 13s out of school. The Careers Day that was held yesterday featured the organisation Zestpeople who led the boys in various activities including personality profiling, CV writing and interview techniques.

In the afternoon, thirty plus people from a whole range of professions, trades and the workforce were available for the boys to speak with in a "speed dating" exercise. The Year 13s chose up to five of these providers of professions or jobs that might pique their interest, or one they might have the aptitude to do. 

Beginning the day was a guest speaker Cameron McIntyre, an old boy of the 1990s and father of Reuben (Year 9). Now a player agent for rugby players, he tracked his career so far. He had three main points to make which not only were relevant to his career in rugby but for anyone.

The first was find your passion, and a clear message to the Year 13s not to follow pursuits that don't excite or make you bounce out of bed in the morning. Cameron's was rugby and he shared that one of the regrets he has now, is that in the years from high school to professionalism that he didn't have a plan B, and how he is now making up for lost time post his playing days, by upskilling in a number of ways. That passion, he continued, may not be identified while you are at school, and he spoke of those years immediately after leaving school as important ones for finding what it is that 'spins the wheels'. He talked then over the 10,000 hours principle - the importance of perfecting a skill, no matter what the area is pursued.

The second point emphasised was about what is your point of difference, and to work on one's strengths rather than worry too much about what one is not so good at. He used sporting analogies but he also showed how the same principle would be used in other contexts. For example, outgoing people may have a skill in winning over people as salesmen, but may be not be as good in administrative tasks. Knowing one's strength is the key.

Building resilience was the third point, and dealing with the inevitable disappointments that life throws at everyone was something Cameron dwelt upon. He commented that too many people 'throw the towel in' too quickly, and too readily walk away from the hard things rather than learning from the bad times. Because of the many choices young people have, the tendency might be to 'jump ship' too quickly rather than take the learning of failing, and he spent some time dwelling upon examples in the Olympics in the last couple of weeks. Simone Biles, the American gymnast and the Dutch runner, Sifan Hassan who slipped and fell at the beginning of her last lap in the 1500-metre heat, but then got up and won!

A good message from a proud old boy, and one relevant to anyone that listened.

Until next week,

J. G. Boyle