'Apprentice' Star Lee McQueen visits Northwood College

Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 15th of November 2012

As part of Northwood College's Think Strong! fortnight, the girls and staff were delighted to meet the dynamic Lee McQueen, who came to talk to them on 13 November about how he won the TV show 'The Apprentice' and spent two years working for business tycoon, Lord Sugar, before setting up his Raw Talent Academy which aims to help people find employment.

Lee, who originally comes from South Ruislip and attended Queensmead School, talked about his humble upbringing, how he has been successful without any academic qualifications and his experience of winning 'The Apprentice' in 2008 . He was only ever on the losing team three times and he won a total of eight tasks; twice as the project manager. Lee was never brought into the boardroom as one of the bottom three, which no other winner of the show can claim. During the series, Lee was infamously caught lying on his CV about his qualifications, as well as being noted for his 'reverse pterodactyl' impression and his catchphrase 'That's what I'm talking about!'.

On 8 November, the school was also visited by the Captain of the GB women's wheelchair basketball team, Clare Strange. Clare gave the most inspiring talk to an absolutely packed out Assembly Hall. She talked of her life before a horse riding accident that left her paralysed from the waist down at 18 years old, what her rehabilitation was like, and how she went on to represent her country in the Australian World Championships just a year after the accident.

The Think Strong! fortnight was a whole school initiative held in November to raise the profile of the school's Thinking Skills and Emotional Resilience programmes and demonstrate how these two important aspects of Northwood College can be interlinked. During the fortnight pupils were given the opportunity to win coloured silicone wristbands, given out by their teachers, which were achieved by demonstrating the following qualities: Commitment (red), Curiosity (pink), Concentration (green), Creativity (blue) and Resilience (gold).

Tara Smith and Leanne Brown, the teachers who organised the initiative said, 'It had been an amazing fortnight and the girls really benefited from and enjoyed the whole experience'.