Britain’s greatest ever Olympian Sir Jason Kenny surprised children at a city school when he made a special appearance at their awards evening telling them to be ambitious and not to be scared of failing.
The track cyclist, who has more gold medals than any other British athlete, shocked pupils at Noel-Baker Academy, in Alvaston, by dropping into their Celebration Evening.
Sir Jason was invited to the school as the guest of former pupil Dean Jackson who founded the city-based sportwear firm HUUB and was asked to give an inspirational speech and present certificates to students.
His appearance was kept a total secret and as well as handing over certificates to children who had excelled in the last three years of school, he also answered questions from the audience and posed for photographs.
Dean Jackson and Jason Kenny at Noel-Baker Academy.
Sir Jason told pupils: “I coach the lads now and I always say that every bad day is just one step closer to a good one. You’ll have more bad days than you’ll have good and you’ll fail more than you succeed but don’t let that put you off.
“I enjoy meeting young people and it’s a pleasure to be in Derby. I was positively average at school – and I’m still quite average – I think people are always a bit disappointed when they meet me as they expect athletes to be giants, like Chris Hoy, he’s huge.
“I was very middle of the road at school. I started cycling when I was 11 or 12, but I didn’t tell anyone about it because at school it was all football, football, football.
“The one thing I would say to pupils at Noel-Baker is to keep trying. It is so much better to have tried and failed than to regret stuff that you never tried.”
Sir Jason made Olympic history in the Izu Velodrome last year as he retained his keirin crown and cemented his spot as Team GB’s most decorated Olympian of all time.
The win made him the holder of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) for a British athlete. His wife, Laura Kenny, holds the same records on the female side.
HUUB founder Dean Jackson, who started out by designing his first wetsuit on his kitchen table at home in Mickleover, said: “One of the best rewards of being in my position is being able to arrange something like this. Jason’s appearance at the school won’t sell us any more kit or make us more well known, but it might light that fire in someone’s belly.
“It can be quite emotional coming back here and while it’s a different building, in a different part of the grounds, it’s still Noel-Baker School and it means a lot to me, especially as someone who has built a business in Derby and had a lot of support from Derby, so it’s really nice to give something exciting back.
“Sir Jason is a wonderful guest and it was a really special moment for these young achievers at the school. I showed a clip of Jason in the keirin, where he sees a gap in the race and just goes for it – it’s a great narrative for pupils to do their own thing, be creative, don’t follow the pack.”
The school is named after Philip John Baker, who was a British politician, diplomat, academic and renowned campaigner for disarmament.
He was also an Olympic athlete who carried the British team flag and won a silver medal for the 1500m at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959.
Assistant head teacher Mark Taylor said: “As a school we are always keen to introduce our students to aspirational and inspirational people, in keeping with the school’s namesake.
“So what a privilege it was to have a visit from Sir Jason, who had so much advice to offer our children who couldn’t believe their eyes when he walked in.
“We haven’t been able to stage a presentation evening for three years due to Covid, so we wanted to make this year’s event really special. We can’t thank Dean enough for making the evening such a memorable event for everyone.”
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