Beyond words - Frances Corcoran & Selena Whitehead (Amazing People Schools)

WHAT I'VE LEARNT

Amazing people inspire us to challenge ourselves. This Literacy story went global in many media outlets as it was so inspiring.

Amazing People Schools UK supports young people, in both primary and secondary schools, to harness these innate character strengths, believe in themselves, and flourish.

An example of this the global literacy success was featured in many international media outlets. It highlights the power of literacy!

Jason was born and raised in a council estate in South London. At the age of three he was diagnosed with autism. He also had global developmental delay meaning there was a delay in his brain and physical development. This led to him not learning to speak until he was 11 years old. He didn’t start reading and writing until he was 18 years old.

He left school with two GCSEs in PE and Textiles. His self-belief urged him forward to continue his studies.

He worked in several shops to fund himself through several degrees and a PhD.

His main area of work is looking at the history curriculum that is taught in the UK and how it often leaves out the contribution of Black British history. He has called for the decolonisation of the curriculum to reflect the diversity of today’s society.

Amazing People Schools has a wide range of resources to support Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for people like Jason. These include Amazing Neurodiverse People and Amazing Black Britons.

Whilst studying for his PhD, Jason wrote on the wall of his bedroom “One day I will work at Oxford or Cambridge”. In 2023 this became true, and Jason is now the youngest ever Black professor at Cambridge University.

He said “I knew I didn’t necessarily have huge amounts of talent, but I knew how badly I wanted it and I knew how hard I wanted to work”.

Jason is now using his position to encourage others and to help change the system to collectively support equality, diversity and inclusion, especially of Black and ethnic students.

Strength of character is everything. We all possess amazing potential; Amazing People help students recognise their own strengths and understand what they are truly capable of - just like so many before them. Let’s empower the trailblazers of tomorrow!

Albert Einstein used wildly creative ideas in his scientific work. Character strengths such as empathy, perseverance and gratitude greatly improve the odds that our young people will thrive, regardless of the challenges.

Character strengths also play a vital role in student wellbeing, social emotional learning, and positive personal development. And they’ve never been more important.

Amazing People Schools supports young people, in both primary and secondary schools, to harness these innate character strengths, believe in themselves, and flourish.

Selena and Frances give us a wonderful insight into how they’re Amazing People School platform is making a difference.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/
Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1365850