Inspirational BBC Presenter Visits HEHS!

We were delighted to welcome BBC TV Presenter Steph McGovern to school on Tuesday 15th October to see our new building, offer careers and business advice to students and conduct an interview on our radio station!

As a prime time presenter of Watchdog for BBC1 and a regular on BBC Breakfast, Steph McGovern is a very well-known face in most households. However at the age of 19, she shared with us that she was told that she would never be on telly due to her accent which is broadly northeastern. Steph’s message to our students was “Don’t let people tell you you can’t” and don’t let your ideas get squashed. Steph illustrated her inspiring message with lots of stories from her time in the media, including how she got into television after being interviewed as an Engineering Apprentice. She encouraged our students to do what she did and send lots of emails to people in the industry asking for opportunities and offering to volunteer to gain experience. She also suggested that students recognise all of their skills; she referred to herself as “gobby” at school, but showed how she had turned that ability to her advantage by being prepared to ask questions no else wanted to – a vital attribute for a journalist. As an ex-apprentice, Steph’s route to success has not been traditional and she said that having worked for companies such as Black and Decker and Claire’s Accessories gave her lots of experience and skills that have helped her to present business programmes and interview business people as well as the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.

We all want to thank Steph for attending HEHS with such an inspiring message and we wish her well for the imminent birth of her first child.

Mr Richards
Assistant Headteacher/Head of Sixth Form