CHILDREN and staff at St Mary’s Primary School in Bentworth have been given an inspirational speech by Nelson Mandela’s former bodyguard.

As part of a school challenge day, Bentworth had invited year six pupils from neighbouring schools in Medstead and Preston Candover to hear about the prejudices faced by Chris Lubbe during his childhood living in South Africa. The children learned about Apartheid and the difficulties faced by people living in the country at the time.

Bentworth headteacher Jo Ayres said: “One focus of the day was resilience and the children heard about the resilience of the human spirit. They spent time considering how they could show resilience when dealing with the social and moral challenges that prejudice brings.”

Year five and year six children, along with their visitors from the other schools, then continued to work with Mr Lubbe, hearing more about his incredible story and his work with Nelson Mandela, the former South African president.

The day culminated in the children writing speeches on an issue they now felt passionately about, working together to listen to each other’s speeches, and saying what they liked about them.

It was an eye-opening day for all involved and comments from the children included “I didn’t know how bad things actually were and how much they divided people up” and “I learnt that Apartheid was so strong that even benches were labelled”.

Mrs Ayres said: “One element that really struck pupils was how lucky we are, that we shouldn’t take things for granted and that we should show resilience in the face of adversity.

“This inspirational day is one that will live in our hearts and minds for a long time,” continued Mrs Ayres, adding that pupils went away with the wise words of Nelson Mandela (shared by Chris Lubbe), echoing in their ears, a reminder that whenever there is a challenge to face ‘it always seems impossible until it’s done’.”