Bel Lunson talks about her school days and how she became a Coach Lead for CoachBright.
During my second year at university, I had the pleasure of volunteering at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Devon. Now, I am completing a placement year in London, working for an international conflict resolution NGO. I also had the honour of being the Coach Lead at Paddington Academy, a CoachBright programme affiliated with the charity West London Zone (WLZ). As Coach Lead, I led a team of volunteer coaches delivering English intervention sessions.
What initially led me to work with CoachBright traces back to my school days. The school I attended in West Sussex ranked as one of the most underfunded state schools in the UK. I am filled with admiration for the incredible resilience exhibited by the teachers. They faced immense daily struggles, yet they always showed up, pouring all the energy they had into giving their students the best shot at a better future.
Still, many of my year group didn’t pass maths and English. A significant proportion of those who did had access to private tuition, a luxury that most families, including mine, couldn't afford. But as a dyslexic student, I managed to navigate through despite the cuts to Special Educational Needs (SEN) budgets. I wouldn't wish this experience on any young person, and unfortunately, I know that for some, the situation is far worse. SEN students are five times more likely to face exclusion in secondary school, and 83% of primary school exclusions are pupils with SEN needs.
Those stats are really scary. They show how easily my circumstances could have changed had I not had angels in my life that supported me. I was given a book called ‘Toe by Toe’[1] by the SEN Coordinator (SENCO) in primary school. It’s an incredible phonetic reading manual. Whenever they had time, they took me slowly through each section, one-to-one with the SENCO and then my beautiful mum after school. This gradually took away my intense anxiety about reading. There is so much pressure on kids in large classes and barely any one-to-one time. When it was just me, one-to-one, I didn't feel judged, and this is really what saved me from forming a negative image of myself. Dyslexia will never leave, but over time I learned to embrace my neurodiversity as a strength.
At university, I learned about CoachBright and jumped at the opportunity to volunteer. I enjoyed teaching English to a wonderful small group of year 7 girls. Then, during my placement year in London, I was encouraged to interview for the role of Coach Lead, and I was recruited! I loved facilitating this programme and guiding new coaches through the challenges and rewards.
CoachBright gives all of us the chance to make a tangible impact and effect real change on the ground. It would have been a lifeline during my school days. The collaboration with WLZ, and seeing their incredible network of partners has shown me the power of nonprofits driven by passionate and caring individuals. It fills me with so much hope for the future.
I witnessed so many beautiful moments. One memory that stands out is a student who initially showed little interest. He just wanted to be a footballer. In the launch session, after sitting down and ranting about how badly Messi did in the World Cup against Saudi Arabia, I got the chance to explain that learning subjects like English would help him achieve his life goals, not just his exams. Later, during a goal-setting activity, he wrote that he intended to try hard at maths and English so that he could become a football coach. I shared this with his teacher which was a great boost for the student.
I also remember when I gave a past paper to a student to work on with me. This was the first time he’d been able to do something like this, and he smashed it. I also got to share this with a teacher he had a good bond with. Having his dedication and effort recognised elevated his confidence.
Back when I was in Exeter, the Programme Officer in Devon purposely matched me with girls that were neurodivergent, and I used fidget toys with them during the sessions as well as many different learning style techniques. One of the girls said they found CoachBright sessions much easier than school and I told them that we were planning the sessions based on how I learnt and that I was dyslexic and faced difficulties in school too. After I shared this, they opened up to me about their neurodiversity.
It felt so great to give these girls confidence and the understanding that there was nothing wrong with the way they learned. I was a role model, someone that faced similar struggles but made it to university. I showed them that they could achieve whatever they wanted. These young people had some hard things going on outside of school too, so little touchpoints like these have more of an impact than we will ever be able to fully see.
There’s this warm feeling you get, like when students are reluctant to leave when the session ends. You just know they’ve upped their self-belief and confidence and they are now far more likely to find a way through. I love how CoachBright is such a welcoming community. This is a testament to the model of creating a stress-free environment where young people can open up about their struggles without fear of judgement. For many, participating in a CoachBright session is the first time since primary school that they've genuinely enjoyed studying their subjects.
Being a coach that shows young people how they can enjoy their subjects is so rewarding. After the Paddington programme finished, all the coaches messaged me saying how much they were going to miss their students.
My dream is to see a future where our state schools receive adequate funding, with teachers that are valued by receiving a fair salary, and where all young people have an equal opportunity to receive one-to-one or small-group support. CoachBright is part of making this a reality. Witnessing the collaboration among partner organisations working together for the benefit of young people is literal hope in action and being part of this team is invaluable, as we strive to make education fairer.
1Toe by Toe: A Highly Structured Multi-sensory Reading Manual for Teachers and Parents, K & H Cowling, 1993
Bel giving insight into her educational experiences, during CoachBright’s Annual Celebration evening, 7 June 2023.