Hackney's Future: 'You have no excuse not to succeed'

“You have no excuse not to succeed,” exclaimed OBV Director Simon Woolley to a 200-strong audience of Year 9 students at the Petchey Academy in Hackney last week. This message is one that all youngsters should hear, and especially those of the BME community, of which most of the students in the room belonged to.

The focus of Woolley’s speech was to point out the obstacles that these students might face, while inspiring them to persevere and strive to be the best that they can.

He took the students back in time by describing the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.Woolley told them of seeing photos of people fighting for equal rights, and how these protesters were blasted with water cannons and attacked by police dogs. Despite the odds, they were able to accomplish so much. Woolley then brought the students back to the present saying:

These activists were your age, or just a few years older. There is still much work to be done, and I know you can do it. You don’t have to face the water cannons or the attack dogs, so you have no excuse not to succeed.”

Yet, he warned them it wouldn’t be easy – they would still face challenges because they were Black, Asian, Muslim, etc. They would have to work doubly hard, but Woolley asserted that with the support of their school and parents, and some self-belief, they could reach great heights. Woolley asked the crowd:

Now, which one of you wants to be the next Mayor of London?”

At first, he was met with sceptical faces and raised eyebrows. Eventually, the students began toying with the idea. Finally, several hands shot up in the air. Woolley called the brave students up to the front of the room.

These might be your future leaders!”

he exclaimed. He was met with some giggles, but also a buzz of excitement.

At the end of his talk, Woolley said that he only hoped to have really shaken up the students and perhaps change their way of thinking. Perhaps the best indication of success was the well-thought-out questions the students asked after, such as what to do if you were being pressured to fit into a stereotype.

Woolley’s response: “Break it.”

Belinda Schwarz