Invicta Vlogs
Incredible Victory
Emma Raducanu’s incredible victory at the US Open last weekend is an inspiration for us all. ‘Incredible’ might not be the best choice of word here. It hints that I didn’t believe it would happen whilst I firmly did.
This 18 year old student has made history in the same way that many of our students have. She bounced back after setbacks, believed in herself, and most importantly, she worked tirelessly on winning a small margin at a time. When things got tough, she dug deep and literally got up from where she fell down to win the points, the game, the set and the Championship.
The Championship break point came and went twice, yet Emma carried on, patiently trying different strategies, playing to her strength and made it in the end.
Emma bouncing back to her remarkable success reminded me of the wise words of Dutch computer scientist and businessman Arthur van Hoff. He said that the first idea that we have is often irrelevant. However, it serves as a catalyst to get us started. In other words, the first irrelevant idea or the first unsuccessful plan often starts us off a learning and discovering journey, during which we figure out what is wrong with our ideas and our plan. We often do this through phases of self-doubt, denial, panic or even regret. It can be a painful process but we are often rewarded with a better idea in the end.
Last week, I asked our new Year 7 students to describe their experiences at Invicta so far with one word. I was presented with ‘fantastic’, ‘exhilarating’, ‘amazing’ and also ‘nerve-wracking’ and ‘overwhelming’. I appreciated the enthusiasm and the honesty in equal measure. The journey to success is not always smooth-sailing at all times, but we will take the journey together and be prepared to dig deep whenever we need to.
Mrs Beales
Headteacher
