Book Week Guest Speaker

Book Week this year was made even more memorable with a visit from an incredible guest speaker Luke Atkins. Luke spoke to our students about courage, discipline, and the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone, drawing on his own journey of challenges and triumphs.

He shared a powerful quote from Theodore Roosevelt, written down years ago by one of his teachers that he later rediscovered in a school folder: “If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Luke explained how those words stayed with him, inspiring him to embrace risk and adventure rather than fear failure.

Luke’s stories from the World’s Toughest Mudder, a gruelling 24 hour obstacle race, had everyone hooked. He described the cold, the exhaustion, and the moments when stopping meant risking hypothermia, so the only option was to keep moving. His perseverance paid off: he placed 14th out of 1091 competitors in 27 hours and 10 minutes completing a distance of 116+ km in New Jersey Race Track during -5 degree celsius. On his second attempt, he came 14th again and on his third attempt he came 6th place. More than the results, Luke spoke about how the experience reshaped the way he saw himself and what he was capable of achieving.

What stood out most was his message for our students.

• Small steps beyond comfort build courage
• Motivation will come and go, but discipline carries us forward
• Success means doing what the average person is unwilling to do.
• And perhaps most importantly, there is no true winning or losing, only the effort you put in.

Luke’s visit left us all with plenty to think about, and his words were a powerful reminder that the very risks we often avoid might just be the start of our greatest adventures.