World record breaker returns to school to inspire pupils

A WORLD record breaking Atlantic rower returned to her former school with an inspirational message for students.

Bobbie Mellor was skipper of the three-woman Wavebreakers team which rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in just over 40 days in January.

She was special guest speaker at Ripon Grammar School’s annual prize giving ceremony where students received a host of prizes for achievements, progress and integrity in areas including academia, music, drama and sport.

Bobbie told them how the secret of her success was perseverance and passion: “It wasn’t talent that kept us going. It wasn’t experience. It was grit. The most important thing for you all, is to just keep going.”

Speaking to a packed hall of more than 900 assembled pupils, families, staff, governors and civic dignitaries, Bobbie told how, just six days into the World’s Toughest Row race, her inexperienced team’s second-hand boat capsized, leaving them in last place in the race.

Bobbie, who confessed she was terrible at sport at school, was competing against Olympic athletes, ex-Royal Marines and world-class sailors when she capsized: “In that moment, I felt like a complete idiot to believe I could make it across the ocean,” she said.

“Then I looked at my teammates, they looked at me as their skipper, and I just said ‘OK, let’s keep going’. Our training kicked in, we were able to right the boat, replace our oars, and within 40 minutes we were rowing again, assessing and repairing damage as we went.”

The Wavebreakers – among the ranks of fewer than one hundred women in history to attempt the journey - went on to come in tenth out of 38 teams overall and the fastest female trio to row across the Atlantic, raising more than £80,000 for climate change charities in the process.

Looking back on all the setbacks her team endured, including strong headwinds, injuries and technical issues, Bobbie, global head of sustainability for Vodafone, said: “There were times when we felt completely broken, but we weren’t. Because we kept going.

“And there were also moments of unrestrained joy; being joined by pods of dolphins and whales, seeing the night sky with zero light pollution, the peace from being off social media for 40 days – honestly, you should try it.

“The only thing that took us from the bad moments to the good ones, was our perseverance to just keep rowing.”

The 35-year-old, who left RGS 17 years ago to study modern languages at University College London, followed by law at the London School of Economics, added: “Our 40 days on the Atlantic was like a condensed version of life itself.

“It was really wonderful, but also sometimes utterly miserable, and often just really boring.

“It wasn’t talent that kept us going. It wasn’t experience. It was grit. It was keeping going when we weren’t thriving, because the only bridge between suffering and joy is your perseverance.”

Earlier, deputy chair of governors Eric Medway praised RGS's outstanding academic achievement, with the school being named ‘Top state school in the North’ by The Sunday Times for the eleventh year in a row and achieving close to the best progress scores in the country.

But he stressed that it is the school’s hidden curriculum - underpinned by a wonderful relationship between staff and students, the hard work and dedication of students and the vast co-curricular offering – which makes the school so very special.

Headmaster Jonathan Webb, reflecting on a year of academic endeavour, reminded students that everyone could not win a prize: “But keep working, keep striving and success will definitely come.

“Once results are forgotten, it is character that wins through in the end.”

Student speakers reflected on a year of music, drama, sport, work experience, volunteering and outdoor education while the audience was treated to a series of musical performances.

*Photos, from top: Bobbie with some prize-winning students; with headmaster Jonathan Webb and deputy chair of governors Eric Medway; RGS prizewinners.

*Below: student talks; headmaster Jonathan Webb; Bobbie Mellor and Theo Kendrick sings with RGS Brass Band