A past pupil honoured for her pioneering work in improving patient care during the pandemic has urged Ripon Grammar School students to cultivate their own ‘stubborn determination’ to make a difference.
Jackie Shears was awarded an OBE for her vital role in revolutionising the NHS 999 and 111 calls system and helping raising money for frontline health workers with a hit NHS Christmas single.
Read more: 'It's like winning the Lottery': Villagers welcome affordable homes for locals
This week she returned to Ripon Grammar School (RGS) as a special guest at the annual prize-giving ceremony.
Students received a host of awards for academic and sporting achievements, effort and integrity, winning praise for their efforts in turbulent times.
Jackie, the creative brains behind the NHS intensive care staff hit single 'Every Breath You Take’ at the height of the pandemic, told the audience: “If you are determined enough, you can find a way to make things happen.”
Describing herself as a ‘middle achiever’ at school, Jackie said: “Nothing came easy, I wasn’t overly gifted and no-one in my family had been to university.”
Having left RGS in 1987 to study psychology at the University of Reading, she told how her refusal to be defeated by circumstances, which began at school, grew into the stubborn determination which saw her transform the NHS call system, despite huge resistance.
“The (OBE) medal isn’t really mine," she said. "It belongs to everyone on that team who believed with cussed determination that we could make this work and make things better despite everyone telling us it wasn’t possible.”
That same stubborn determination was the driving force behind the remarkable achievement of recording and releasing the hit NHS ICU Christmas single – complete with written permission from Sting - within three weeks, despite being told it would be impossible.
Read more: Major roadworks planned for A66 near Scotch Corner as development takes step forward
Jackie told students: “Cultivate your own stubborn determination, be prepared to act to make it happen.
“Be you – authentically, emphatically you. Your inner super-powers come out and you find yourself when you let yourself out.
"Be your fabulous self. Find your tribe and free yourself up to deliver all your potential.
“Don’t follow others’ roads.
"Not everyone has to go to university or get married or have children or get a mortgage.
"Shackling yourself to other people’s dreams is lazy and deeply unsatisfying.
"If the norm isn’t for you, figure out what it is and make it work for you."
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here