St Mary's Calne
On Tuesday 26 November, we welcomed John Sutherland, former Hostage and Crisis Negotiator, serving with national and international cadres, with the Metropolitan Police, to St Mary's as our Sixth Form Lecture guest. Since leaving the Met, John has become an established author, with his first book, Blue: A Memoir, becoming an instant Sunday Times bestseller and his second, Crossing the Line, selected as a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
Here, Libby and Eva (UVI) reflect on the lecture:
'Tuesday night’s lecture was an inspiring experience. Blending past times working within the Metropolitan Police, where he worked for 25 years, as well as intriguing stories from personal experiences - some from when he was a hostage negotiator - John Sutherland provided us seven important life lessons. From the importance of listening to the meaning of intelligence (including emotional and spiritual intelligence), we learnt skills that will be essential to our life beyond Calne.
The overarching ethos was that 'every contact leaves a trace', and this was impactful for every girl watching. His final question to us was - 'what traces would / do we leave behind? and What would people say about us when we are no longer around?' - which give us a lot to think about.
We were so grateful to be given this opportunity to reflect and develop ideas about how be your best self.'