Whitgift School

Transcend the Norm (December 2024)

Two years after our founder stepped down as OW Mentoring Lead, upthegreatness returned to Whitgift with our first female-led initiative: Transcend the Norm.

This programme challenged young men to rethink what is possible—judging themselves and others by skills and passion rather than gender or surface labels. By engaging with accomplished young female professionals, students gained a fresh appreciation for authenticity in career journeys, the importance of looking beyond societal expectations, and a broader sense of their own potential.

Our speakers, each with a STEM background—a Forensic Science graduate, a Biomedical Sciences graduate, and a Natural Sciences graduate—also showcased their athleticism as a cricketer, hockey player, and netballer, proving that excellence can be multidimensional.

(L-R: Imogen {Former Mill Hill School's Head Girl}, Canaan {Former Woldingham School's Deputy Head Girl}, and Shivani {Former Woldingham School's Community Ribbon})

"one year on" talk (December 2023)

Nearly a year on from leaving his position as OW Mentoring Lead, Oluwani returned to Whitgift – along with a few special guests – to check in with his mentees' progress and update them on the growth of upthegreatness (utG) over the last twelve months. The utG family members in attendance were: Joshua Jibulu {sports media producer},  Joseph Golding {UCL graduate, business owner, founder of Whitgift's ACS}, Timi Oke {3* College Football Cornerback & Northwestern commit}, and Alexander Ezimora {final-year Philosophy undergraduate}. The hour-long talk was structured in a carousel format with our four guests spread out across the Old Library. The group of twenty students were then divided into smaller groups of five and were able to spend several minutes talking with each guest before moving on to the next one. 

Oluwani then closed the event by highlighting that the first "greatness seed" was planted over a year ago (when the original mentoring group was formed) and what this current crop of mentees represent are the ripening fruits of the first "greatness tree". A tree which is blossoming beautifully as we are seeing mentees like Sean Kerr (Harlequins professional rugby player) and Tooni Adisa (Northwestern undergraduate) thriving in their post-Whitgift lives. He further explicated that in a similar fashion to which Tooni and Sean are responsible for sowing their own greatness seeds through being examples for others to aspire towards, there will also come a time for these students where they must inspire others towards greatness. Thus, the cycle continues and a "forest of greatness" steadily grows.

upthegreatness discussion series (July 2022 - December 2022)

An eight-part series, hosted at Whitgift School, featuring successful young professionals discussing their career trajectories with student audiences.

utG (.01): Reece Brown (property manager), George Hammond (professional athlete), Joseph Golding (entrepreneur), Joseph Parkes (fitness business owner)

utG (.02): Kofi Sarpong (social media manger/content creator), Tobi Omoloja (record label executive), Jude Russell (FA-qualified coach)

utG (.03): Shuan Maroof (e-commerce entrepreneur), Don Oboh (Doctor), Nathaniel Opedo (DJ/recruitment consultant)

utG (.04): Harry Williams (professional athlete), Arminder Dhillon (entrepreneur), Kofi Addei (film director), Tee Valentine (artist), Taino Goveia (Grenadier Guardsman)

utG (.05): Noah Ferdinand (semi-professional athlete), George Oyebode (civil servant/creative & events company co-founder), Jamie Oyebode (senior researcher/creative & events company co-funder), Cameron Johnson (underwriter)

utG (.06): George Jaques (film director-actor), Harrison Sellers (model/DJ/fitness instructor/content creator), Rahmon Agbaje (music creative agency co-founder)

utG (.07): Joel Acquah (research consultant), Michael Hennessy (professional athlete), Callum Hudson-Odoi (professional athlete), Michael Mhangami (sports agent)

utG (.08): Tom Campbell (policy analyst), Jumal Nelson (fintech associate), James Culff (recruitment executive), Benn Fillingham (GB Kickboxer/Taekwondo Instructor)