Students meet gladiator, Fury at World Book Day Event

Students from across the region meet Gladiator, Author and Sports Star, Jodie Ounsley

Children in Years 4-7 celebrated the start of World Book Day week with an inspiring visit from Jodie Ounsley. Recognisable as 'Fury’ from the hugely popular BBC show Gladiators, Jodie is the much-loved sports star and pioneering deaf athlete, who represented England in rugby sevens.

Jodie has written an empowering, must-have guide-for-life called Keep Smashing It: Be Strong, Be Brave, Be Confident! In the book, Jodie shows young people that they can do anything they put their mind to – they just have to believe they can. She teaches how our differences are our superpowers, the importance of being resilient and how to pick ourselves up and try again.

Jodie's event saw children engage in a host of interactive challenges designed to help them to achieve their dreams. 

Keep Smashing It! Be Strong, Be Brave, Be Confident is a mantra I live by, especially as ‘Fury’ in Gladiators. Growing up, I had to learn how to be brave and push myself to ‘do it anyway’. I am delighted to come to Wolverhampton Grammar School to talk to young people about my empowering new guide-for-life, and share some advice that I hope will help children believe in themselves and follow their dreams.

Jodie Ounsley 

Thanks to Jodie our children left the event inspired to continue to be strong, brave and confident. To ensure that children continue to be inspired by Jodie's message long after her visit, every child in attendance at the event will also be gifted a signed copy of Keep Smashing It, once the book is published later this month. We would like to thank the Merchant Taylors' Foundation for their generous funding grant to make this gift to children possible. 

Thank you to Jodie for a wonderful afternoon; to Macmillan Children's Books for partnering with us for our event;  to Ms Brown for making the event accessible for all as a British Sign Language Interpreter, and to Bilbrook Middle School, Heath Park School, Merridale Primary School, Penn Fields School, Perton Middle School, Pool Hayes Academy and SS Peter and Paul Catholic Academy for joining us in Big School to celebrate the start of World Book Day week.