Will Taylor is a 15-year-old partially sighted student who founded the fencing club at his rural school in Derbyshire. The club has grown to 15 members, including students who fence from wheelchairs. Will was inspired to start the club after watching Pirates of the Caribbean. He lobbied the school administrators and secured a coach to train the team. The school supports many alternative sports programs through partnerships with local organizations and draws students from a wide rural region.

1. derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk56 DERBYSHIRE LIFE May 2013
‘I
t’s controlled aggression – it
allows you to attack people
with swords without getting
arrested!’ 15-year-old Will
Taylor is not a teenage gang
member. He’s a bright, articulate student
and founder member of his school’s
fencing team. In fact, with plans to study
Law and Criminology next year, you’ll be
much more likely to find him wearing a
barrister’s wig than in the dock.
Will’s story is remarkable on two
counts. First, he’s partially sighted.
Second, he attends one of Derbyshire’s
smaller state schools, which is more than
20 miles from the nearest swimming pool
or athletics track. But he hasn’t let either
circumstance stop him.
In the classroom his restricted vision
means he needs enlarged versions of
schoolwork and text books and support
from a teaching assistant for reading from
the board. On the fencing piste Will opts
for the biggest weapon – the sabre,
originally used on horse back for slashing
the head off your opponent’s steed.
‘Being partially sighted makes it more
difficult for things like blade control and
being accurate with lunges but that’s why
I enjoy sabre more than epée or foil –
because you don’t have to be as accurate
you can go a bit wild with the sword!’
Watching ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
inspired Will to badger School Sport Co-
ordinator, Mrs Ruth Cook, to re-establish
the school’s fencing club which had sadly
folded. Will and his fellow students Seren
and Connor took the matter to student
council and set up a training day run by
his Manchester club coach, Stuart
Marshall. As a clever piece of PR, Will
staged a fight at the school talent show
between students and teachers asking
headteacher Mr Bernie Hunter and
science teachers Mr Thomas and Miss
Dainty if they wouldn’t mind being
‘beaten up on stage’. The club now has 15
members including Joe Bell who fences
from his wheelchair.
EnGardeLissa Cook meets Will Taylor, the partially sighted student at
Hope Valley College who, inspired by Hollywood
blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, has revived his
school’s fencing team
“Will’s story is
remarkable on two counts.
First, he’s partially sighted.
Second, he attends one of
Derbyshire’s smaller state
schools, which is more
than 20 miles from the
nearest swimming pool or
athletics track.
”
Will Taylor at
fencing practice

2. derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk DERBYSHIRE LIFE May 2013 57
What’s the secret of Will’s success at
Hope Valley? After all, in addition to an
active fencing club the school also boasts
a climbing wall and what’s more Mr
Hunter believes they are the only state
school in the country with an onsite
mountain bike track. All good schools of
course rely on the support of the Parent
Teacher Association and local
community. For example the climbing
wall was bought with the help of Hope
Valley’s cement works Lafarge.
Another key is being responsive to
student demands. Mrs Cook explains the
vision: ‘It’s really important, it’s part of
our ethos that we listen to our Student
Voice and accommodate what we can. It’s
often difficult to find coaches because of
our rural location but we’re very inclusive
and we like to include a lot of alternative
sports here like climbing, fencing and
OzBox and we have a fitness suite as well
as the mountain bike track.’
But perhaps what many parents are
unaware of is that Hope Valley College is
part of a wider network – the Rural
Derbyshire School Sport Partnership.
Partnership Development Manager
Janice Price, based at Anthony Gell in
Wirksworth, works with five School Sports
Coordinators, like Mrs Cook, each based
in a ‘hub’ secondary school. Each hub
links to a cluster of around a dozen
primary and infant schools (64 in
total) stretching all the way from
Edale down to Sudbury 50 miles
further south. By pooling resources,
building links with community clubs
and training older students to coach
younger pupils the partnership runs a
programme of inter-school
competitions and after-school activities
that would otherwise be out of the reach
of many of the smallest, most remote
schools.
Mr Hunter says, ‘Many of our
primaries are chocolate box
schools in very small
communities. In terms of
specialist PE provision we
are fundamentally their
prime link so our ability
to support them is
critical.’ The afternoon
of my visit for example
Mrs Cook was rushing off
with pupils from Bamford
Primary School to take part
in the athletics competition
at Queen Elizabeth’s
Grammar School in
Ashbourne. Janice Price sums it
up: ‘Last term alone in rural
Derbyshire 111 primaries took
part in 18 primary school
competitions in nine
Top centre: Fencing Club member Joe Bell
Top right: Hope Valley College fencing club
Above: Will Taylor at fencing practice

3. derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk58 DERBYSHIRE LIFE May 2013
different sports. That means a grand total
of 1,813 pupils taking part in sport.’
The sad reality is that one in every ten
children starting primary school in
Derbyshire is not just overweight but
already obese. By the time they leave that
figure has doubled to nearly one in five
(18 per cent). Baroness Sue Campbell,
chair of the Youth Sport Trust, warned
recently in a newspaper interview of a
generation blighted by physical illiteracy:
‘Some secondary school teachers have
11-year-old pupils who hardly move.
They can’t catch, throw, jump or run – the
fundamental basic movements of every
sport.’
It’s not just about physical fitness – it’s
also about teaching vital life skills and
values like inclusivity and leadership, says
Mr Hunter: ‘When Will’s team mate Joe
Bell is seen in the corridor and it’s clear to
everyone that he is overcoming
enormous obstacles to achieve, that’s got
to have an inspirational spin-off for other
youngsters who are too inclined to give in
to the smallest obstacles.’
‘When our students go back as a
graduate to coach in their primary school
that really sends a powerful message but
it also gives students self esteem – a real
lift. It can only lay the early seeds that
there are more ways of being involved in
sport than just by direct participation in
team sports.’ Janice Price quantifies their
contribution: ‘Last term the RDSSP
trained 328 secondary school Young
Sports Leaders. Each gave 3.5
volunteering hours to support those 18
primary school competitions. Combined
that’s a massive 1,148 volunteering
hours.’
Will Taylor agrees: ‘Sport’s also
mentally beneficial because it gives you
the confidence to say actually I can
probably do this. You obviously need self-
confidence for public speaking to do law.’
Will’s self-belief is evident. Not only has
he got the fencing club up and running
and is busy with exams but he also stood
in the school’s mock elections and has a
very honourable mentor in the form of
Home Secretary David Blunkett who
visited the school after Will wrote to him.
I’ll leave the last word to Will. ‘Making
sure that everyone is equal is an
important thing and I‘d like the numbers
of people and diversity to increase within
fencing because it shows no matter what
your difficulty – if
you’re physically
impaired you can
still give it a go
and it doesn’t
stop you.’ n
Above right: Will
Taylor at fencing
practice
Right: Hope Valley
College fencing club
Below: Hope Valley
College fencing club
Below right: Mrs
Cook and Mr Hunter
at Hope Valley
College