Aleksander’s story

Aleksander’s Story Boosting confidence and encouraging teamwork: over the course of the On Track to Achieve programme at the Winstanley School in Leicester, Aleksander’s confidence grew as he became an integral part of the group. We caught up with him to hear about his experience working with athlete mentor, Kelvin.

Dame Kelly Holmes Trust On Track to Achieve programmes are designed to improve confidence, wellbeing, self-esteem and resilience in young people, setting them up to achieve in school and life. Athlete Mentor Kelvin Batey worked with the group at Winstanley School – as a former BMX racer who has competed all over the globe – with the highlight being winning six medals at a World Championship event, two bronze, two silver and two golds, Kelvin now uses his experiences from his BMX career to mentor young people.

The programme at Winstanley, and three other schools in the region, were funded through our partnership with Deloitte’s Nottingham office. The successful three-year partnership has enabled us to support over 70 students in Nottingham and the surrounding area. As part of the Deloitte’s 5 Million Futures initiative we put world-class athletes' shoulder to shoulder with young people to help them realise their full potential.

Aleksander’s Athlete Mentor, Kelvin Batey

Aleksander’s experience is a great example of how a teammate like no other can produce lasting impact

Lack of confidence can be a big barrier in a young person’s life: more than half of young people (51%) told us in a recent survey that a lack of confidence is holding them back from doing the things they want to do. . Kelvin noticed straight away that Alexsander needed support with his confidence. “Within the first 10 minutes of working with the group on the first session it was clear that there were pockets of friends within the group. But one student, Aleksander was clearly on his own,” explained Kelvin.

As the relationship between athlete mentor and young person developed, Kelvin learned more about the circumstances that may have held Aleksander back. A few years ago, he had moved to the UK from Poland. “I’ve moved from Poland a few years ago and I’ve just kept myself to myself both in and outside of school,” said Aleksander.

Despite having perfect English, Kelvin felt he just needed a nudge of confidence to become social and speak to the other students in the group. Providing him with a Champion in his corner, Kelvin drew on experiences and skills from the world of elite sport to help Aleksander apply them to his own life.

As the sessions at Winstanley continued, Aleksander came out of his shell and began to socialise more with the group, uncovering some natural leadership qualities. “He began to take more a leadership role within the group once he got comfortable in his surroundings. I remember in one of the team building games – the Zombie Game - he coached the rest of the team through, it was really impressive to see the progression in such a short amount of time,” explained Kelvin.

Part of the On Track to Achieve programme requires students to identify, plan and execute a social action project which is close to their hearts and benefits the local community around them. Introducing them to public speaking, and offering them an opportunity to interact with other adults, they then pitch their idea in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style to volunteers and teachers.

The group from Winstanley had volunteers from the Deloitte’s Nottingham office take part and Aleksander’s confidence journey took another positive turn. He really stepped up in the planning stage of the project and when it came to presenting to the group of volunteers he was proactive in delivering his part.

Speaking about his involvement in the Dragon’s Den pitch, Kelvin said: “Aleksander led the way on the day. He was very proactive in talking to the volunteers when they came in, he led the way by going over to them when they arrived to shake their hands and introduce himself which was extremely impressive. The rest of the group took notice and followed his example, it was a real example of confidence and leadership in action.”