Gavin Stollar, a Beal alumnus gave a truly motivation talk to the Year 12s in during a February PSHE session to encourage the students to both work hard in their studies and to also have high aspirations in their respective futures.
There were several themes during the talk but one of key themes was that a person should not be determined by where they come from but rather where that person eventually ends up. ‘Be defined by where you are going, not where you come from’.
We are very lucky to have Gavin speak to the Year 12s each year and another key theme he emphasises is that ‘you can’t control other people, but you can control your reactions to them’ along with the importance of ‘surrounding yourself with good people’.
Gavin who grew up in Longwood Gardens close to Barkingside High Street has now been awarded an OBE, meeting the current King Charles III in the process and Gavin has also been on television as a commentator.
What made his talk particularly compelling was the fact that Gavin was not initially identified as a ‘highflier’ in fact he was not in the top sets in Year 7. Gavin even had to retake GCSE Maths in order that he could eventually make it to a Russell Group University. Even applying for university was initially considered potentially ‘overreaching’ for Gavin but after the University of Birmingham Gavin later attended Harvard Business School and further success was soon to follow.
The number of students who wanted to speak to Gavin to ask questions after the main talk showed how much Gavin had captured the attention of the Year 12s and was of a real benefit to the students.
We very much look forward to having Gavin back to speak to the new Year 12s next academic year.
‘I enjoyed this assembly immensely. Hearing Gavin Stolar’s story inspired me as a person to take on initiatives and to become more confident as a person. I enjoyed how his assembly wasn’t on slides as him speaking about his story made students connect more with his story.’ VP
Mr. Matheson – February 2026
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