Post by Finn Punton

I’m incredibly proud to share that I’ve graduated from the University of Birmingham with a 2:1 in Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences🎓. The past three years have flown by and have undoubtedly been some of the most rewarding years of my life. One of my proudest achievements has been completing my Professional Dissertation at Wilson Stuart School, where I achieved 76% for my individual project: “The Effectiveness of a Bespoke Approach for Learning in a Motor Skill Intervention for Ambulant SEND Students Using ‘Smart Moves’”. Working at Wilson Stuart since September has confirmed my passion for teaching, and my experience supporting students with SEND has been invaluable. I’m incredibly grateful to my supervisor, George Balanos , for his guidance and support throughout the year. A huge thank you to Kristyl Bonner for her unwavering support through the year and encouragement for my next steps. As part of the dissertation, I also completed a group multimedia presentation with Aidan Casey, Molly Jenner-Flukes and Amy E.. Together, we achieved 86%—the joint highest mark in the cohort. I’m so proud of what we accomplished together and thankful to have worked alongside such fantastic co-researchers and friends. A huge part of my university experience has been shaped by the University of Birmingham Athletics Club. I’ve been fortunate to take on roles including Track Captain, Head Coach of the Birmingham Athletics Academy, Assistant Coach for the Street-2-Stadium programme with England Athletics, and even had the incredible opportunity to visit four Ivy League universities in the United States. As well as this, I’ve met some amazing people. These experiences have helped me grow both personally and professionally, and I’m grateful to everyone who supported me along the way. As one chapter comes to an end, I’m excited to begin the next. This September, I’ll be starting my PGCE and teacher training with the Xavier Trust, as I work towards becoming a primary school teacher🎓