We were delighted to welcome Alex Staniforth in to school on Friday 14th January to speak with students in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11. Alex is a 26 year-old record-breaking adventurer, ultra-endurance athlete, international motivational speaker, author and mental health activist.
He was able to use his own experiences to talk with our students about overcoming adversity, something to which he is no stranger! Alex has suffered with mental health challenges since his teens, and has also endured bullying, a stammer, and bulimia over the years.
His love of the outdoors has also sent its fair share of adversity his way too, not least in the shape of the two biggest consecutive disasters in Mount Everest history, including the 2015 Nepal earthquake which trapped him on the mountain for two days!
Not one to let anything beat him, in July 2017 Alex became the fastest person ever to climb all 100 UK county tops and won the Pride of Britain Granada Reports Fundraiser of the Year 2017. In 2020 he also ran the National Three Peaks Challenge, covering 452 miles in just 9 days 12 hours!
Now Alex is committed to keep challenging his barriers whilst inspiring others to "achieve their own Everest". He co-founded 'Mind Over Mountains', a mental health charity, to help others restore mental well-being naturally through outdoor experiences.
On Friday, he used his stories of endurance to encourage students to recognise and draw on their own self-reliance and bounce-back ability. He reminded them that they oversee their own happiness and should not let others determine what they can and cannot do. "Overcoming setbacks is normal and part of life."
We would like to thank Alex for spending time with us last week and we hope that more students in the future will be able to be similarly inspired and motivated by his words.