For pupils at Stoke High School in Ipswich, learning golf has opened up opportunities to build confidence, strengthen friendships and develop tools to help them through difficult moments.
When teacher James Holmes joined the Golf Foundation at the BMW PGA Championship, he shared how Unleash Your Drive is making a difference in school - from pupils becoming more willing to make mistakes to a young person using the programme’s mental toughness tools while living with a serious illness.
At a school where 42% of pupils are eligible for pupil premium, these experiences are helping young people recognise their strengths and feel more confident about what they can achieve.
Finding the confidence to lead
Stoke High School initially piloted Unleash Your Drive with 12 academically able Year 10 pupils. The programme introduced golf alongside practical mental toughness tools that pupils could use in lessons and everyday life.
All 12 pupils, now in Year 11, have since become prefects or corridor monitors. James describes them walking around school with their “heads held high”, showing greater confidence in themselves and their ability to take responsibility.
He has also noticed changes in how they approach learning. Pupils have become less afraid of making mistakes in practical subjects and more comfortable reflecting on their work, including in photography. Learning to recognise what went well and what could be improved has helped them approach those conversations more constructively.
That approach has become part of James’s wider work with pupils. He regularly uses “What Went Well” and “Even Better If” when helping young people talk through a problem, taking the positive self-reflection encouraged by Unleash Your Drive beyond the golf sessions.
Tools for difficult moments
James shared a particularly powerful example with us of a pupil who was diagnosed with a serious illness.
He describes how the mental toughness tools have helped this young person manage some of the challenges he faces and remain in school for longer. It is a personal example of how pupils can draw on what they have learnt when facing difficulties beyond the activities themselves.
James also highlighted a pupil whose attendance increased from 72% to 89%, identifying Unleash Your Drive as one of the factors that contributed to that improvement.
He is clear that the changes are about more than the tools alone. Spending time with friends, developing relationships and sharing a new experience have all played a part.
Golf provided a valuable starting point: being beginners together gave pupils common ground, with opportunities to try, make mistakes and improve alongside one another.
Reaching a new group
Building on the pilot, Stoke High School is extending Unleash Your Drive to 10 Year 8 pupils through PSHE across the school year.
The group has been identified because of difficulties including anxiety, low confidence and social challenges. Some can find situations overwhelming and struggle to respond or take part. James has dedicated time away from his usual timetable every fortnight to work with them.
Only two of the pupils had played golf before, making their visit to the BMW PGA Championship an exciting introduction to the sport on a much bigger stage.
The prospect of seeing names such as Lando Norris and Tom Holland during the Pro-Am helped build anticipation. On the minibus, pupils were already talking about who they might see — giving staff a chance to share their excitement and build relationships outside the classroom.
The visit offered a memorable beginning to the group’s experience of Unleash Your Drive, with those relationships providing a foundation for the sessions ahead.
Helping pupils feel seen
For James, an important ambition is to reach pupils who might otherwise go unnoticed: young people whose lack of confidence can prevent others from seeing their interests, abilities and strengths.
Through Unleash Your Drive, the school wants to help those pupils become more confident and be recognised for the positives they bring to school life.
The first group’s progress offers an encouraging example. Pupils who began by learning a new sport together are now taking on responsibilities across the school, reflecting on their learning and carrying themselves with greater self-belief.
Watch James’s story above to hear how Stoke High School is using Unleash Your Drive to support its pupils, in lessons and beyond.