Golden touch brought to Careers Week

Paralympic gold medallist Ayaz Bhuta MBE brought a winning mentality to National Careers Week, being celebrated at the academy.

Gold medallist Ayaz Bhuta talks to students via a video link.

The 34-year-old was a member of Great Britain's triumphant wheelchair rugby team at the 2020 Tokyo games.

Ayaz spoke about his personal battles – he suffers from rare genetic disorder Roberts Syndrome which effects the growth of bones in arms and legs – and encouraged students to work hard and overcome adversity.

He switched from wheelchair basketball in 2009 and represented GB at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics and was in the winning team at the European Wheelchair Championships in 2015 and 2017.

Ayaz is a current member of the national wheelchair rugby squad and has travelled the world with the sport, his favourite destination being Brazil.

He was awarded his MBE for services to sport in the 2022 New Year's Honours List.

Speaking via a video link, Ayaz was pleased to be involved in the academy's efforts to mark National Careers Week.

He said: "I'd encourage you all to make the most of it. It's a great opportunity to speak to all the different people coming in to school this week and find out about a career you may want to go into.

"My advice is to not just pick one talk or route, keep your options open. If you can do something you enjoy, you will work harder and be more successful as a result.

"Utilise this opportunity you have to think about what you may want to do in the future.

"A career in sport in much more than being a sportsperson. There are lots of different roles such as nutritionists, psychologists and coaches."

He praised students listening to him.

"It has been very engaging and there have been some great questions."

Twelve-year-old Lily had enjoyed the talk.

"I found it really interesting how he got into his career and switched from basketball," she said.

"He was realistic and talked about the hard work needed. I am looking into careers in sport and I really enjoyed this talk."

Charlie (14) thought Ayaz was inspirational.

"He showed how someone can overcome disadvantage and be anything they want to be," Charlie said.

He was enjoying careers week.

"I've had a couple of good days. Yesterday, there was a talk on architecture where they did 3D scans. It was dead cool.

"I also enjoyed actor Charlotte Ritchie yesterday and I'm going to football coaching tomorrow. There is a lot going on."