The world of sport has always been a source of fascination and inspiration to me as a teacher, with so many ideas that can be perfectly translated to the classroom.

In fact, I have found sporting autobiographies far more useful to my career than any of texts specifically focused on the world of education.

I got one great idea from Stuart Lancaster, who was, at the time, England’s head coach for rugby union.

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It was so simple and inspirational and yet unbelievably moving and effective, I knew I had to bring it into my teaching practice.

He had asked the loved ones of his players to write letters to them, outlining how proud they felt to see their relative pull on the England jersey.

He believed that this extra shot of motivation could give them the additional impetus they needed before going into battle on the rugby field.

I happened to be teaching English to a group of relatively uninterested boys that year and thought I’d give it a go.

I wrote to their families asking them to write a letter to their child, letting them know how proud they’d be to see them succeed in their English GCSE.

Most jumped at the chance, although some did refuse (for reasons varying from a lack of time, to describing their child as “rotten” or “beyond help”).

The vast majority took part, however, and delivered unbelievably emotive letters that I took great pleasure in reading to the boys individually the night before their first exam.

Those who didn’t get a letter from their families got one from a member of staff who I knew they valued and I truly believe that, for some of them at least, it was transformational.

Complex communication

Not all of the letters were straightforward. Having offered to have wording translated for those parents whose native tongue was not English, I received a letter which had thanked me for the offer of translation, but assured me that their eldest son had kindly obliged.  

My heart went out to him when I read the line “Whatever happens, you’ll always be our favourite child”, knowing that he had translated that phrase destined for his younger brother.  

Another father promised his son the car of his choice if he passed English language. I phoned the father that evening to thank him for the letter and to praise his generosity.

He shrugged off the offer, scoffing that he would never have to part with a penny, as his son had “no chance of passing”.

There was silence at the end of the line when I assured him that his son had every chance of passing (and so it proved to be).  

Creating a tradition

I shared this idea at a national conference and I get great pleasure in hearing about it being rolled out to students across the country, with many creating a tradition, as I do now, of presenting the letters to entire year groups at their leavers’ assembly, pre-exams.

I once had the chance to interview Lancaster and thank him for the inspiration.

As an ex-teacher himself, he seemed delighted by the reach of his idea into the world of education and he took the time to talk me through his story and how his ambition to give his players that extra element of motivation had achieved such success with the players he had inspired, who still talked about the letters years after they received them.  

Lancaster believed, as I do, that the desire to reward those who care about you drives a deeper level of commitment, ultimately leading to better results, whether you’re be battling for your country on the sports field or squeezing every drop of knowledge out in an exam.

Chris Edwards is headteacher at Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke, Hampshire