Like many teenagers, Rebecca Redfern has just entered her GCSE year. Unlike her contemporaries, however, her dreams for the summer are somewhat ambitious; she has set her sights on swimming for Paralympics GB at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
This autumn Rebecca excelled at the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games, a national multi-sport event delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, in which the country’s most talented athletes of school age compete. She won gold medals in three separate events: 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle, and 100m breaststroke in which she smashed the British record. This is the fourth such record Rebecca has taken in her visual impairment classification, and in April she’ll head to the British Para-Swimming International Meet, hoping to win her ticket to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
We speak to Rebecca, her headteacher and parents on how best to support someone rising through the ranks to balance their numerous academic and sporting needs.
The student’s perspective
Life is pretty full on for Rebecca. A typical day needs to fit in at least one session at the pool, as well as a full school day as she prepares for her GCSEs at the end of the academic year. And then there are the numerous competitions, which may involve considerable travel up and down the country.
The 15-year-old is up at five in the morning, four days a week to make it to the swimming pool before heading to school. She trains again six nights a week, staying up until 10pm. There are no days off but Rebecca’s ambition to swim for Great Britain in the Paralympics keeps her motivated.
The life of a budding athlete takes commitment and compromise. When friends are out having fun, Rebecca can be found either doing her homework, at the pool or catching up on sleep over the weekend.
“Luckily it’s not really had an impact with my friends. I know they’re there and I hope they always will be. My best friend is amazing with everything and really understanding.
“My social life can wait until after school when I have finished my exams. I am really looking forward to the summer.”
Rebecca found the Sainsbury’s School Games a great introduction to a big sporting event: “It felt really special with all the other different games going on and was a bit like a mini Olympics.”
What she really hopes for is to make it to the real thing. She says: “I would love to make it to Rio. It would be amazing to be known as someone who is representing their country and doing well.”
“The juggle can be hard but my teachers at school are really supportive.”
School support
The amount of training and school work Rebecca is doing are bound to make her tired, so the school works with Rebecca and her parents to provide maximum support.
Droitwich Spa high school headteacher, Natalie Waters, says: “When you have a student with exceptional talent you have to do everything to help nurture that and with Rebecca things are no different.
“It’s about supporting her dedication to swimming as well as helping her prepare for her GCSEs in the summer. In many ways sport helps Rebecca focus on her academic work and it has certainly helped increase her confidence at school.”
The school and its physical education (PE) staff work closely with Rebecca and her parents to encourage a balance of academic work and swimming. This includes managing homework extensions or time away from school around major competitions, as well as tips to help divide homework into small manageable chunks tackled in smaller bursts.
Parent’s perspective
At the age of nine, Rebecca was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, which will eventually lead to her becoming totally blind. She is blind in dim light and has “tunnel vision” with only 10 degrees visual field (compared to the 160 degrees that most of us take for granted).
Although Rebecca is excelling in the disability sport scene, her increased level of training under the watchful eye of Worcester Swimming Club coach Mark Stowe is also helping improve her position in “able bodied” swimming.
Her dad Steve says: “Prior to her recent successes in disability swimming, she barely qualified for swims at county level, but now not only does she qualify for several county events, she does well in them, and is also making regional events– something that was always a million miles away in the past. She is thriving off her disability successes.
“As she nears the top of the tree she has taken on significant training burdens, but this has been reduced by the fact that we have a really good relationship with the school’s headteacher who has been incredibly supportive.”
The Youth Sport Trust is an independent charity devoted to changing young people’s lives through sport. The charity is passionate about helping all young people to achieve their full potential in life by delivering high quality physical education and sport opportunities. For teachers looking for tips on how to support talented individuals or to become a member please visit our website.
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