Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

Ellen in library at Anthony Gell School where she read about sailing as a child

I went back to school recently…literally!…with an impromptu visit to my old school, Anthony Gell in Wirksworth. It is now a specialist sports college and it was great to reminisce about the old days with Headteacher David Baker. I also went back to the school library to have a look at the books that I borrowed while I was there and which inspired me to sail! (see photo)

I also had the opportunity to go to another really interesting school in the area, Herbert Strutt Primary School in Belper.

18 months ago, the school moved from an old building in the centre of Belper to a new build on a brand site. Everyone, from Headteacher John Murday to the teachers and pupils alike, appears to have a real sense of pride in what is a very nice-looking building which has been designed to be as energy efficient as possible. In talking with the Head John, some of the key sustainable elements that have worked well are rain-water harvesting for loos, PV cells for lighting, bore holes for heating and hot water and effective double glazing.

However, the final element of the jigsaw needed to get the school to a carbon neutral position is a 25m wind turbine – and the school has had difficulties getting planning permission for this for the last two years. 

I have to say I really enjoyed these visits and it was really heartwarming to see two schools with inspirational heads who are working hard to motivate and to look after their pupils.

Ellen

Hello All, 

I would like to invite you to come along to some talks which I will be giving in various locations around Great Britain to coincide with the Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage of Discovery which starts in May.

The aim of the talks is to raise awareness and funds for the Ellen MacArthur Trust and 100% of the ticket proceeds will go directly to the Trust.

These will be my first public talks since I finished the round the world record attempt and I am looking forward to sharing with you more about what I have been working on since then.

The first talk is in Brighton on 5th May at 1830 at the Brighton Hilton Metropole. For more information and online ticket sales, please visit www.roundbritain.org/index.php/audience

Look forward to seeing you at one of the talks!

Ellen