ADRIAN DERBYSHIRE ASSEMBLY- 19th March

Adrian Derbyshire- Inspire. Believe. Succeed.

Today (Thursday 19^th March) Congleton High School welcomed British International wheelchair fencer, Adrian Derbyshire to the school, to speak to year nine students about his Life, Sport, Health and Wellbeing, Disability Awareness and Hate Crime.

Adrian’s life changed forever in August 2008 after going to bed one night he woke-up three days later in hospital after suffering from a brain haemorrhage. He then contracted meningitis and had an inoperable brain tumour and he was told that he would have days to live.

However, he didn’t let his disability hold him back and he took-up fencing, in which he competed for Great Britain; winning two gold and three silver international medals. He has also held various titles including national champion and Great Britain’s number one wheelchair fencer. He says that “determination, stubbornness and not giving up” have been the key to his success, something that everyone can learn from. He said “I had every opportunity to sit on the couch when I got home to wallow in self pity to say my life was over to give-up. Instead I turned it around and said that, no, I am going to live every day because it could possibly be my last and try sport and take it from there. And in three years I managed to achieve two gold, three silver, carry the Olympic torch, the Paralympic lantern and become Great Britain’s number one. It has been an amazing journey.”

Adrian says that sport saved his life, “coming home my life completely changed, I was new to being a wheelchair user, I had this life threatening illness and I just wanted to go outside as well as meet people who were disabled. 89% of disabled people were not born that way, they acquired their disability in their life and I was one of the 89% and I wanted to meet others. I had the opportunity to try all the Paralympic sports as well as try out for Great Britain, which was a tremendous honour. Sport saved my life. It gave me the will to fight and a purpose in life.”

Adrian is a man who likes a challenge and he really is going the extra mile with his latest challenge. Instead of just driving to the schools, colleges and universities that he visits, he instead hand cycles to them. This meant he had to get up at 5am to hand cycle a marathon before he arrived at Congleton High School this morning. He has hand cycled over 3,500 miles since starting the challenge last April, speaking to over 39,000 students. He hopes to cover a lot more miles this year as part of his campaign, including 19 half-marathons, 12 marathons as well as five 15km, 5km and 1km.

He hopes that by visiting schools, like Congleton High School, students will really think about the stigma of bullying and the hate crime aspect of it. Adrian is very passionate about this subject as he has been a victim and is still a victim of hate crime and bullying. He is frequently heckled and called names on the street, with it happening “at least once a week”. He has also had McDonald’s thrown at him when just wheeling around the town centre. He was also targeted in a burglary in 2013, with six men breaking into his house and holding him at knife point whilst they stole all the memorabilia he had collected, £40,000 worth of equipment, as they knew he would not be able to fight back. All he had left was just one bag of things, which he brought into school containing his medals, Olympic torch and Paralympic lantern. The burglary forced him into retirement from fencing as they stole his equipment, which saw him unable to compete in competitions.

He said that if anybody is a victim of hate crime then the first thing you should do is report it/talk about it. Adrian said that hate crime is “highly under reported because people who are being bullied or a victim of hate crime go inside themselves and don’t want to talk about it because of fear of the ramifications of talking to someone. They then isolate themselves, this is then when you start to get anxiety and depression and then possible suicidal thoughts or self-harm. You have got to talk to someone about it.”

Adrian also hopes to inspire students “to be the best that they can be” and be positive role models for one another.

He says that in his life he is most proud of the letters he has received from students and young adults who have listened to his talks and have been inspired by them. “I had this big award from the Prime Minister a few months ago, I have received lots of awards for what I do but actually receiving letters from young adults and children saying that they have been self-harming but, after listening to what I said, the first thing they did was tell their mum about it. I have received lots and lots of different stories. A young girl, who is age 15, actually saved up all her mother’s medication for over a year ready to kill herself because of bullying and she heard an assembly that I gave and she went to her mum and told her what was going on and that saved her life. I never really honestly thought that it would come to that extent of saving lives but it is and that is probably what I am most proud of.”

Students and staff found his talk truly inspirational and Adrian is someone that everybody can learn from, whether this is his positive “I can” attitude, his determination, going the extra mile, being positive role models or his experiences of hate crime and bullying.

One thing’s for sure you will not hear many stories like Adrian’s and he has for sure left his impact on both students and staff at Congleton High School.

You can watch an interview with Adrian as part of Congleton High School’s BBC School Report here.

Written by Adam Bailey