Hello and welcome to this week’s Year 9 Blog. 

At long last it appears that Summer may be on its way, the school field is reopened to the different Year Groups, and it is great to see the students being able to sit, chat and play sport on the field during their break and lunchtime. 

During the Year Group assemblies this week and last, the students have had the opportunity to listen and watch the progress and story of Russ Cook, aka The Hardest Geezer. Some of you may be aware of Russ Cook and his incredible story of resilience, determination, commitment and stoic attitude. 

On the 7th of April this year, Russ Cook became the first person to run the entire length of Africa in less than a year. Covering more than 10,000 miles and passing through 16 countries he ran the equivalent of 386 marathons and 19.2 million steps. 

At 27 years old Russ Cook wanted to become the first person in the World to complete the remarkable feet, having suffered with alcohol abuse and gambling addiction he used running and fitness as a method of getting his life back on track. He aimed to make as much money as possible and raise much needed awareness for people in the UK who are homeless and the Sandblast Charity. 

On his journey (run) he crossed the two largest deserts in Africa, firstly the Namib and secondly the Sahara, between these stretches of desert, he also traversed the Congolian Rainforest, the second largest rainforest in the world. 

Facing huge adversity throughout his run, his story was very well received by the students of Year 9 who listened in awe and enjoyed greatly the images shown of his time running the 10,130 miles. 

The presentation finished with a direct quote. Russ Cook said, “It is not just about fundraising, I want to inspire people, to throw everything and the kitchen sink at life” “You get one shot (at life), why would you not make the most of it?” 

I am sure you will agree that we can all learn a lot from Russ Cook and his unwavering determination to complete this challenge and I hope that by raising the profile and bringing the stories of todays ‘adventurers’ I can inspire the students of Year 9 to strive to be their very best and believe that anything is possible with hard work and determination. 

Regards 

Mr Julian

Head of Year 9

Mrs Green

Assistant Head of Year 9