The week began with a truly inspirational speaker. His name is Talan Skeels-Piggins and he spoke to the children about his incredible life since 2003 when he was paralysed in a motorbike accident.

He talked about lying in hospital for months after the accident, setting his goal of learning to ski on a sit-on monoski, competing in the paralympics and then onto the future where he has become a paraplegic 600cc motorbike world champion. To watch a documentary about his journey called ‘The Little Person Inside’ click here.

The week continued with a talk from The Royal Navy. We were very lucky to get Chief Petty Officer Sally Armstrong to speak to our children about life in the Royal Navy. It was a real insight into a career that so many children described as heroic as the children heard stories of the places she had travelled and the people she had helped.

The children had the opportunity to listen to some of the highlights of her 28 year career, to see the medals that she was awarded and to stand to attention and salute.

The next speaker was a UNICEF volunteer called Hua Ou. She spoke to the children in Years 3 to 6 about the work of UNICEF and the work that volunteers do to support the lives of children in desperate situations. Children learned about the lives of some refugees in Syria and Yemen and considered the heroic actions of those volunteers who work to protect the vulnerable families and enact the UNICEF motto of “For Every Child in Danger”.

Children were treated to a talk from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance on the Thursday.

The children learned about the quick response time of the air ambulance (15 minutes to anywhere in Hampshire), the roles of the heroes who work in the ambulance and we even acted out an emergency situation where we might need the help of the air ambulance. Not only that but we also had a visit from Teddy Medic!!

Professor Clive Behagg; Vice Chancellor of The University of Chichester and Chair of the Academy Trust Board. He spoke to the children about his journey to where he is now in terms of his early life with his parents, the values they gave him and the journeys of his siblings.

The children were particularly interested in hearing about his job now and how he has to occasionally tell off some adults that work in different Chichester Academy Trust schools!

At the end of our Heroes Week, the children had the chance to meet Conor Chaplin. He was kind enough to come in on his day off and answered the children’s questions, posed for some photos, signed plenty of autographs and even played a small game with some of the children from After-school club.

Conor talked about how he started with the PFC academy from the age of 6 and how it feels now to play in front of 16,000 fans at Fratton Park. His advice was to keep practicing your keepy-ups and your dribbling skills all the time and work hard if you want to become a better footballer. He said that he avoids junk food and ensures he eats plenty of protein and carbohydrates to gives his body the right energy and to help avoid injury.