Jamie Gordon:
giving back
Carterton Community College has
remarkable students; and when the
Crier heard about the activities of
Jamie Gordon we couldn’t pass on
the chance to meet him.
Jamie is dyslexic. Prior to being
a student at CCC he went to The
Unicorn School in Abingdon, a school
for those with dyslexia, dyscalculia,
and dyspraxia, as well as other pupils
who need support with speech and
language. This year the school will
celebrate its 25 year anniversary.
“The Unicorn helped me in so many
ways,” the 16 year old says. “It brought
my confidence out and it taught me to
like words a little bit more than I did.
I never wanted to go home because I
enjoyed school so much.”
Now Jamie wants to give something
back, and he’s going to quite some
lengths in order to do so.
This summer, in order to raise funds
for The Unicorn, he will be joining his
uncle and others in a cycle ride from
Land’s End to John O’Groats, we’re
talking nearly 900 miles and roughly
nine days of pedalling.
“We’ll cycle 100 miles a week in
preparation and then in the last month
or two we’ll have to do 100 a day,”
says Jamie.
Part of the cyclist’s training has
involved rides in the Brecon Beacons
where one route hits 4000ft – “It’s
been particularly useful training for
when I reach Scotland!” he states.
There must be easier ways to raise
money!
“I like big challenges,” he says.
“This will be my biggest so far and
I find that cycling helps with stress.”
And
stress
is something
he knows about. “When you’ve got
dyslexia it can be quite stressful. In
English exams where you’re marked
on punctuation and spelling it can get
quite frustrating because you lose
marks for something you can’t really
control.”
His sister is also dyslexic. “She doesn’t
like school at all,” Jamie says. This
was also once the case with him.
That someone close to him is in such
a situation must serve as a constant
inspiration: “I’ll always support people
with dyslexia,” he confirms.
To see Jamie’s progress you can visit
his Facebook page: Jamie’s Lands
End to John O’Groats, Cycling for
the Unicorn School. Email Jamie on
to find out
how you can make a donation to his
charity.
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