Old Hymerian, Tom Whittaker, reflected on his time at Hymers after spending two years in our Sixth Form from 2003 to 2005.

“My sporting experience at Hymers was an experience I’ll never forget and one which undoubtedly contributes to my own career in sport.
I moved to Hymers to further my academic studies but more so to experience sporting opportunities and I wasn’t disappointed.
What made Hymers stand out was how accessible the facilities and the staff were (I used them from 0730 until 1900 daily in and around classes), how pervasive sporting opportunities were (gym access early before classes started, pool access before and after the school day and pitch access in between lessons for skill practise) and most significantly the autonomy leaders of the PE department gave individuals who wanted to maximise their capability. If you wanted to develop yourself, barriers were removed in order to enable you. The environment was low friction.

Its impact was profound. I was lucky enough to play Rugby Union full time for a few years afterwards but the experience at Hymers has most impact later in my coaching career, supporting my approach to challenging circumstances, developing others, creating environments to develop elite performers in and what it means to represent those that have represented your school, organisation or nation before you. Playing rugby for Hymers was a privilege and you knew it was at the time.

2 Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games later, having developed athletes across multiple sports to medal success I’m still leaning on my experience at Hymers today.”

Tom is currently the Paralympic Performance Director for GB Weightlifting