Sharim’s - story

The On Track to Achieve programme has been a lot of fun and it’s been a lot of help to me personally as well. We’ve learned loads of new stuff over the last few weeks and my behaviour at school has got better.

One of the things we have been looking is the levels of poverty in the country and ways that we can help. So when we were deciding on our social action project, we really wanted to help out and collect food for the local foodbank in Loughborough so we could support other people. It was really good to be able to bring it all down to the centre and see how much it will help.

One of the key skills I’ve learned is how to present things better on this programme, we’ve had to build PowerPoints and design posters in order to get people to bring food in for the food bank, so it’s been really good to develop those skills.

My athlete mentor Kelvin is amazing to work with, he’s really good fun and he really cares about people. It’s just great to have a world champion BMX rider mentoring you, it makes you feel special and you really want to do well.

Kelvin Batey said:

“From the start Sharim was outgoing and chatty but often his behaviour could distract the other students in the group.  As the sessions went on, he started to understand that he couldn’t always be shouting out all the time and I think that’s when he really started to improve and understand more about effective communication, listening to others and not speaking over them. Teachers have mentioned that he conducts himself better these days and that his behaviour has improved in class. He was a real advocate for supporting the foodbank at the New Life Community Church and he really helped push the project forward to become the success that it was. I am really pleased with the progress Sharim has made, he’s done really well over the time I’ve worked with him.”

My behaviour has definitely got better for being on this programme. I used to mess around all the time but working with Kelvin has really helped me to calm down and think more deeply about stuff. Previously at lunch time, we might have thrown food away but I understand more now about how wasteful that is and how other people don’t have as much food, so I don’t do that anymore.

Sharim and fellow students from Charnwood College pictured outside the New Life Community Church after dropping donations at the food bank situated there.

Sharim was mentored by World Champion BMX biker and athlete mentor Kelvin Batey as part of an On Track to Achieve programme run at Charnwood College in Loughborough. This was one of three On Track to Achieve programmes funded by the Britford Bridge Trust in 2021/22.