Sarah Gorrell of BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey tracks the coming challenges of four Hurst pupils in on-air interviews

Sarah Gorrell is an award-winning radio journalist who has a passion for discovering the 'stories behind the stories' and much else through her interviews. Occasionally she meets her guests in her small studio in BBC Radio Sussex's suite in Queen's Road, Brighton but more often than not, she talks to them 'down the line', live on air.

Amongst the many threads that Sarah is following in her programme (broadcast from 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm every weekday) are the stories of 100 individuals from Sussex who are facing particular challenges in their lives - from examinations to a brain operation! By interviewing each of her guests before, during and after their particular challenge or challenges, Sarah is unearthing some wonderful stories and experiences, giving her substantial and loyal following a host of insights whilst provoking a great deal of laughter and providing much inspiration and real cause for celebration.

Amongst her many guests are four pupils from Hurstpierpoint College. They visited her in her studio last week and extracts from their conversations with Sarah will be broadcast this week (Tuesday 15^th to Friday 18^th March 2011) and she will continue to follow their progress in the coming months.

The four are typical of so many youngsters of their age in the County: working hard for exams, packing an enormous amount into every day and determined to be the best that they can be at anything they undertake.

Megan Edwards - 16 years old and - like so many 16 year-olds - preparing hard for her GCSE’s. At the same time, she cannot let up on her efforts to continue developing her hockey skills as she is currently a member of the English U16 squad and hopes, soon, to play for her country. Through all this, Megan has to take especial care of her health as she is diabetic and so has to watch her blood sugar levels very carefully and has to inject herself several times day. "When I was diagnosed" she said "I really couldn't look at a syringe or a needle but you have to get used to these things ..."

To listen to Megan talking to Sarah on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, click the start button on the audio box below

Deanna Greenhalgh – now 17 – is about to take her AS levels (Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Geography and Spanish) whilst, like Megan, continuing to hone her sporting skills. She plays for Hurstpierpoint College's Hockey Firsts and the Netball Firsts and was a key member of the team that won the U19 2011 Sussex Independent Schools' Netball Association Tournament, adding this to their wins as U14's and U16's . They have now made it their key challenge to emulate this success in the Sussex Knock Out Cup (a State and Independent Netball Schools' competition) which she and her team mates also won at U14 and U18 levels. She's also an enthusiastic member of the school CCF and is a Lance Corporal in the Army section. What does she particularly like about that? ‘Well, it’s something completely different, you get to do things that you don’t do in any other aspect of school life and also you have the opportunity to teach and mentor younger students’. She is also this year a member of one of Hurst's Young Enterprise companies (called ‘Origin’) and believes it has taught her some good life-skills – teamwork and organisation for example.

To listen to Deanna talking to Sarah on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, click the start button on the audio box below

Benji Mason – nearly 16 – is also preparing for his GCSE’s whilst packing an awful lot else into his life as his interests embrace debates, triathlon, tennis, learning Mandarin (in his 'leisure time') and deepening his intellectual experience as a Senior Johnian (a school society devoted to encouraging a deeper understanding of 'life beyond the syllabus')!

To listen to Benji talking to Sarah on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, click the start button on the audio box below

Marcin Konowalczyk – like Deanna, he is 17 but unlike her hails from Poland and learnt 'very basic english' over a few years in Poland but only came to England with his parents two weeks before he started in the Lower Sixth at Hurst. At this point he discovered that he 'only understood about 75% of what was said'. 'I was using the dictionary rather a lot then and I'm still learning now' he says. Now he has been in England for some 18 months, is a member of Hurst's Upper Sixth and is taking 5 A levels - Maths and Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. He would like to take Chemistry at University and was thrilled to learn earlier this year that he had been given a provisional place at Oxford. His a pretty competent juggler and really enjoys climbing, working out regularly on the climbing wall at school.

To listen to Marcin talking to Sarah on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, click the start button on the audio box below

Follow the fortunes of Hurst's 'famous four' and so many other interesting citizens of Sussex by listening to Sarah Gorrell weekdays between 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm on BBC Sussex available on 95.3 FM, 104.5FM and 104.8 FM

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Under 14s

 

 

 

 

Under 16s