One of the first female RAF fighter pilots in the UK, Flight Lt Mandy Hickson, recently visited Taunton School to give an uplifting lecture about her career.
Students and staff at the school were treated to an inspiring and humorous talk by RAF fighter pilot, Flight Lt Mandy Hickson.
Mandy thrilled students with the amazing journey that led her through failing her RAF entry examinations (twice), gaining her flying wings after overcoming numerous obstacles and then, finally, achieving her dream of a flying career pursued at staggering heights, speeds and unimaginable G-force. Her story was one of an ordinary young girl who had a dream and who had the courage, strength of conviction and resilience to keep striving to succeed, in spite of the barriers that lay in her path.
Val Burnett, Head of Academic Enrichment at Taunton School, commented: “Grit and courage in the face of adversity, in whatever form this takes in our daily lives, are attributes that we, at Taunton School, strive to foster in all of our students. We are clearly not all cut out to be fast jet Tornado pilots flying at mind-blowing speeds in excess of 700 mph, but Mandy’s inspiring message was a simple one: if you do have a dream, then hold on to it and be prepared to work hard, think outside the box and, above all, be prepared to face the prospect of failure in pursuit of your ambitions.”
Students had the opportunity to ask questions and chat to Mandy after her talk. One student commented: “It was great to meet such a brilliant role model. I really liked her final message which was ‘Dream it, believe it, do it’.”