Lawn Manor Academy welcomed a familiar Swindon name during this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, with international martial arts entrepreneur Matt Fiddes delivering an inspiring message to pupils about resilience, ambition and using personal challenges as fuel for success.
The school ran a full programme of activities around the national theme of ‘Power for Good’, celebrating pupil achievements and highlighting how positive actions can shape the school community. Lawn Manor Academy was also selected to speak on a national anti-bullying panel, sharing how its own approach is being embedded across every area of school life.
One of the standout moments of the week came during an assembly featuring a personal video message from Fiddes, who spoke openly about how his own experience of being bullied at school in Swindon became the spark that drove him to build a business empire now worth more than £120 million.
Fiddes — who later became a close friend and personal bodyguard to Michael Jackson for a decade — told students that the company they keep has a powerful influence on the adults they become, and that choosing discipline and self-improvement over retaliation changed the course of his life.
“As a martial artist, I could have fought back and beaten my bullies, no problem,” he said. “But I knew that wasn’t what my instructor wanted. Instead, I focused on studying, reading, learning how to be the best and making myself better. I attracted new people into my life — the most famous being Michael Jackson, who asked me to teach him martial arts. Who would have thought that for a poor boy in Swindon?
“Work hard, stay positive, dream it, achieve it, believe it — go after your dreams.”
The school’s commitment to anti-bullying was also highlighted nationally thanks to Assistant Headteacher Marek Koza, Senior Lead for Anti-Bullying, who addressed schools from across the UK as part of the United Against Bullying Plus (UAB+) pilot. The project, run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance with Kidscape, works with schools to improve training, culture and support networks.
“Anti-bullying is part of our school’s DNA,” Koza said. “Inclusion, respect and celebrating diversity are embedded into everything we do. We encourage pupils to use their ‘Power for Good’ by giving them real responsibility and visibility.”
Pupils are involved in shaping school life through roles such as Welcome Ambassadors and peer mentors, helping lead events, promote inclusion and model positive behaviour. Each year, all students sign the school’s ‘I RESPECT’ charter, reinforcing shared responsibility and a culture of kindness.
Lawn Manor Academy is part of the Ascend Learning Trust. More information can be found at www.lawnmanor.org.
