P16 Under the Spotlight - Jacob Hare

Post-16 in the spotlight: Jacob Hare, Year 13

Jacob has been a student at The Leigh since Year 7 but he has faced more challenges than most of his peers, as he was born with retinal dystrophy, which means that he has always been extremely visually impaired. He describes his ability to see as being like looking through a colander or looking at a jigsaw in which half of the pieces are black, so you can imagine how difficult it is for him to not only find his way around busy environments like the academy but also to see and read all the written materials he has used throughout his education. This did not prevent him from achieving the GCSE grades he needed to complete Post-16 study with his peers and it is certainly not stopping him from applying to take a degree in Sports Science at university! Jacob is also a keen sportsman, competing in goalball for Team GB, visually impaired cricket for Kent, kayaking and rock climbing.

Jacob says that his academic and sporting success is all down to his mindset: he has simply always told himself, “Get your head down and try. It might be harder for you but there’s no reason why you can’t give it a go.”

Jacob attributes much of his success to the experiences he has had and the personal qualities he has developed in scouting since the age of 6. He has been a beaver, a cub and a scout and is now an Adult Leader in the 1st Horton Kirby Scout pack. In 2019, he was selected to attend the World Scout Jamboree in the USA, joining 45,000 other scouts from across the globe. As an Adult Leader, he is now helping to assess and select younger scouts to attend this event themselves.

In summer 2022, Jacob will be completing his next personal and scouting challenge by joining a group of scouts in the Volta region of Ghana in West Africa, spending time teaching, delivering sports coaching and working on a construction project in a school. He is very excited but also very aware of how much of a challenge this is going to be, as an extremely visually impaired person. He is self-funding his place on the adventure and has so far raised half of the £2,400 he needs through a variety of fundraising exploits, which will continue over the coming months, even while he prepares to take his final examinations in Sport, Biology and Psychology. No mean feat!

Just as we did when he attended the World Scout Jamboree in 2019, we would like to support this remarkably resilient, determined and dedicated young man to participate in his Ghanaian expedition, as he is both an example to us all and one of the nicest people in our academy!

To support Jacob and donate to his fundraising efforts, please visit his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jacobhareghana?utm_term=qQYw3VjYA

Mr. L. Forcella-Burton - Director of Learning for Post-16