Matt Windle Visit

Class: Year 9

Number of students: 5

Gatsby benchmarks: 1,2,3,4,5

Activity

As part of our Careers lessons year 9 had a visit from Matt Windle. Matt is a professional Boxer and Poet. When Matt was in year 11, he was sent to a Pru school in Birmingham. He told us this was because he was always getting into trouble at school by fighting. He explained to the class how he took his anger and started boxing instead and this resulted in him turning professional and he has currently had 79 fights.

Matt explained that with his determination and focus he managed to change his life around. Matt suffered from depression, until one day his teacher gave him the option to write a story or poem. Matt decided to write a poem and after his teacher read it, she gave him an application to enter for the Poet Laureate. Matt entered the competition and in his first year didn’t win. Matt told year 9 that this didn’t get to him, and they should never be knocked down and always get back up and try again. He entered the competition in the second year and won.

Impact on students

Matt said that now due to his poetry, his life is better. He gets paid for doing what he loves, he has travelled the world writing poems for other Countries. He was asked to write a poem
to promote Cricket, and he travels around schools talking to students about his experiences. He is also working with Worcestershire County Council to promote poetry and help find the next Young Poet Laureate, which was offered to all year 9 and the whole school. This showed the students that no matter what their background they can achieve great things once they leave school.

Student feedback

All the students engaged well with Matt and helped with his rhymes. They asked some questions and thanked him for his visit. Once he left, they all commented on how well he had done in his life and said he was a nice person.

Teachers’ feedback

Great to see how a young man from a Pru school has worked against the odds and is now a professional boxer and Poet, this visit was excellent in raising awareness for our students, encouraging them in making decisions for themselves and the future.