Back to School

On Monday 26th March Alice and myself (Josie) had the pleasure of returning to our old secondary school The Abbey, in Reading.  We were invited back to hold an assembly for the current students age 14-18 about why we were undergoing the swim itself and how we were going about doing it.

Niether Alice nor myself had been back to school since picking up our A Level results there in 2010 and 2009 respectively and neither or us really new what to expect.  Had the school changed much?  Would we recognise anyone?  Had assembly format been altered?

Fortunately we were received very warmly by the staff and students who patiently listened to our plans and what we have been up to so far, as well as what is going to happen in the near future.  It was lovely to be back in school again, which we can now safely say hasn't changed dramatically, and we still recognised a few staff members which was also lovely!  In fact the whole experience made us somewhat nostalgic of school life again, especially when we heard the school bell go!

Alice and I would like to thank all the staff and students for making us feel so welcome and for allowing us to come in and speak to them.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope to be back soon!

Lots of news on forthcoming events to come in the next few days so watch this space....

A Prestigous Invite

Last week we receieved an invitation to attend the Young Achiever's Trust awards ceremony. It was to take place on Monday 19th March at the Speakers House. This was the extent of the information we received and so armed with an overwhelming sense of intrigue and a variety of outfit choices, Amy and I (Poppy) made our way to the Houses of Parliament. We asked the friendly Policeman outside the gate where Portcullis House entrnace was and were directed away from the Houses of Parliament. Luckily we found a group of people stood outside what Amy described as "Tesco Express offices" and in true British style, we joined the queue! We were ushered in to a reception area where our bags were checked and we were subjected to airport style security. After receiving our security passes, we waited in the crowded atrium of an extremely large greenhouse. We were then ushered down staircases and through corridors until we emerged into the courtyard of the actual Houses of Parliament!

Amy and I were still bewildered and confused as to exactly why we were there and what on earth was happening but we smiled graciously as they gave us name tags and showed us into a very grand room. Not quite a champagne reception but the OJ and apple juice went down a treat! We were told to "make ourselves at home" in a set of rooms which would not have looked out of place in a period drama. We oohed and aahed at the magnificence of the suite and giggled at our incompetence to mingle with anyone other than each other!

There followed a few quick speeches, one of which was given by Sholto Moger, our mentor from the Mark Evison Foundation who helped us through our application. The awards ceremony was short but sweet and both Amy and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the calibre of the young people who were receiving the prestigious awards. Once all of the awards had been given out, we managed to pluck up the courage to talk to Margaret Evison and her daughter Lizzie. Margaret then introduced us to Sholto and it was nice to finally be able to put a face to the name. We also met some of the previous recipients of Mark Evison Foundation awards and the chance to talk to them about their achievements and future plans was awe-inspiring!

As the dignitaries and award winners had left, Amy and I took our leave. After a false start on the tube we finally made our way to Paddington and eventually home again. We'd like to thank the Young Achievers' Trust and the Mark Evison Foundation for the wonderful opportunity and generous hospitality.

But after all this partying, it's sadly back to the training plan...