Nationally-acclaimed actor, producer and director, Andrew Ellis, recently visited Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester where he gave an inspirational talk to students there about his life and achievements as part of the school’s Aspirations Day.
Andrew Ellis was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester and found a passion for acting in high school. His major break was in Shane Meadow’s BAFTA winning film ‘This is England’. Andrew has since gone on to star in a number of film and television productions, reprising his role as the lovable ‘Gadget’ in ‘This is England’ television series.
Andrew commented: “Visiting Saint Paul’s was an absolute pleasure, the pupils listened and responded well and the staff were brilliant. It’s a joy to show young people of Wythenshawe that there are opportunities out there for the taking”.
The students in Year 11 had the opportunity to reflect on their future path once they leave Saint Paul’s during the school’s Aspirations Day. They were able to gain valuable help and tips from ex-students, colleges and employers in a series of workshops.
Representatives from a cross-section of industries gave up their time to support and inspire our students teaching them concrete skills linked to the careers including:
Harriet Taylor from Autotrader
Craige Poole from Cardinal Logistics
Connor Walsh from Intellect group
Kerry Truelove from The Clayton Hotel
Eileen Edwards and colleagues from Manchester Airport Group
Sergeant Ali and colleagues from Greater Manchester Police
Michelle Rimmer and colleague from Nicky Oliver
Kathryn Balogun from Browne Jacobson
Michael Brookes-McGrath from Brunel University of London
Andy Ellis – actor from Wythenshawe star of This England
Past pupils: former Head Boy Alex Cowgill, Maya Zimna, artist Papa Quaye, music producer Ishola Finney
Students had the opportunity to learn about each industry and career path as well as more practical applications of skills including:
practise developing computer coding
develop an understanding of entrepreneurship and what it means to ‘disrupt the market’
develop and apply confident sales and marketing strategies to adopt in personal interview and business scenarios
develop an understanding of events management and design and plan logistics for their own high school prom
explore aviation security searching bags for prohibited items and experiment with metal detecting wands to search one another’s person
learn about the Theft Act and how it can apply in real world; understand the physical arrest procedure and application of handcuffs and even try this out with an officer
practise hair styling with heat tools and braiding for different hair types and experiment with nail painting and design
apply critical thinking to explore ethical legal dilemmas with real life case studies
develop an understanding of growth mindset and touch on degree level social theories about power, choice and autonomy linked to their own aspirations and choices
explore the acting and performing arts world and the various behind the scenes roles this entails
listen to Saint Paul’s students share their experiences of Year 11 and subsequent career trajectories
Students were highly engaged throughout the day and developed a wider skill set to complement their academic curriculum as well as enhance their own cultural capital and knowledge into opportunities available to them post-high school. Parents were then invited into school during the evening with their child for subject presentations and revision activities to guide them in how to succeed and how parents can best support this.
Debonair, the uniform shop in Wythenshawe, donated doughnuts, both Asda and Tesco provided donations and students were treated by the school to a free pizza lunch.
Some comments from our pupil voice:
“I enjoyed it because it was fun to listen to and have a different experience and I think the next Year 11 pupils should have this opportunity”
“It was a nice change from normal lesson and I learnt something new. The speeches from past students were very interesting and inspiring.”
“We didn’t have to just sit and listen all day we did get to take part in some activities that was really engaging.”
“Overall it was a good day and my mum got a lot more information about GCSEs as she didn’t really know the education system in England.”
Comment from presenter, ex-student and Head Boy, Alex Cowgill: ‘Students at Saint Pauls should not feel like they are limited in the scope of what they can achieve simply because they are from Wythenshawe. I, as a former student, believe that if you have the incentive and motivation to achieve, you will be able to. This, unfortunately, must come from yourself, and not from other people telling you to do it.
Your mindset is what is holding you back from your potential as a student, and if you do not open your mind to how your current actions influence your future, you will not be able to reach your goals. Students should know it is their responsibility to get their own grades to the highest possible, it is not their teacher’s. When I was invited back to Saint Pauls for Aspirations Day, I felt that it would be important to share this message, and I hope the students learnt something from it. It is not only relevant to the GCSEs but to A-Levels and beyond.’
Maya Zimna, ex-student who is currently studying law and helped deliver the law workshop, added: “It was a lovely day and I enjoyed my time there. I would definitely come back!”
The careers workshops received an extremely positive response from our students. The workshops were delivered by a variety of professional businesses including aviation, tech & computer engineering, legal, law enforcement, sales & marketing, hospitality/event management and hairdressing.
Craig Poole from Cardinal Logistics said: ‘It was a great experience being able to give something back to the pupils.’
Kerry Truelove from The Carlton Hotel said: ‘I had a fantastic time, and most of the children were very engaged and showed great enthusiasm.’
Eileen Edwards from MAG said: ‘It was an overall amazing experience coming into Saint Paul’s. It was very well organised and professionally run. All of the staff were very welcoming and made us feel like nothing was too much trouble.’
Connor Walsh from Intellect group commented: “I found the entire experience to be incredibly rewarding. It was inspiring to witness the pupils actively discussing their aspirations in business and sharing the journeys they envision for themselves. Being able to support them in understanding how to make a lasting impression and be memorable was fulfilling. I was impressed by their engagement and the innovative ideas they presented; it truly highlighted their potential and enthusiasm. Overall, the event was a fantastic opportunity to empower young minds and help shape their futures.”
Kathryn Balogun from Browne Jacobson added: “It was an incredibly rewarding experience. It was truly inspiring to see the level of engagement and enthusiasm from all the students.”
Ms Fannon, Assistant Headteacher, said: “The day was a fantastic opportunity for the students to gain some extremely valuable skills, learn some important information and raise their aspirations. Our visitors provided a great deal of “food for thought” and the Saint Paul’s alumni added extra inspiration about what you can achieve if you focus and put in the effort.”
Mr Whiteside, Headteacher, explained: “Our students found this to be a very valuable day where they were able to discuss their future paths with ex-students, college students and with employers. Students were able to broaden their horizons and aspirations and returned to school next day extremely motivated to work hard and do well.”
Mr Whiteside added “We are very grateful to those employers, ex-students and other organisations who are kind enough to offer their time to provide our students with the opportunity to make a more informed choice about what career route is best for them.”