AARON Phipps, professional wheelchair rugby player, came to visit The Burgate School and Sixth Form on Monday September 30.

Organised by Miss Bowring, a P.E teacher at The Burgate, Aaron Phipps’ presentation informed students of how he became part of the GB wheelchair rugby team and his many other achievements. Within the presentation Aaron recounted the challenges he faced during his rise to the top.

When Aaron was 15 years old, he fell ill with Meningitis and his legs were amputated, meaning he uses prosthetic legs and a wheelchair.

Initially, Aaron competed in wheelchair races, completing the Totton 10k charity race and completing the London Marathon twice.

After being introduced to wheelchair rugby by his friends, Aaron began to play and became part of the GB team. He competed in the 2012 London Paralympics and is working towards the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

Aaron also recounted the story of his climb up Kilimanjaro to the students; he told them that his goal was to be the first person to climb the mountain in a wheelchair without any assistance and he completed his goal.

After his presentation, the students had the chance to ask questions that they had previously prepared.

Aaron described his illness as ‘the worst and best thing that ever happened to me. I had to lose 30% of my body before I started using 100% of it.’

Written by Anna Wright and Callum Robertson