A LEADING surgeon gave sixth form students an insight into life in the operating theatre when he visited their school.

Keith Roberts - a top liver transplant and pancreas surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham -visited John Kyrle High School (JKHS) in Ross-on-Wye and spoke about his career, from humble working-class beginnings, and how he and his team perform complex surgery.

Assistant headteacher Mark Croad said he gave a fascinating insight into NHS processes, advances in medical care and how his own extensive research feeds into that.

He told them he had no family history of people working in medicine, and attended his local comprehensive school in north Wales.

His message was that you can achieve anything in life if you work hard and believe in yourself. 

He described how he had qualified as a doctor, then a surgeon, and spent several years working as part of the air ambulance service and how important teamwork was in the role and in his current surgical specialism.

“His advice was to look after people as you rose towards your goal in life, and be humble when you got there, and he gave examples from his own field of eminent surgeons who had done exactly that,” said Mr Croad.

Mr Roberts then had lunch with a small group of students, all of whom were interested in careers in medicine, nursing, midwifery or similar. 

Topics covered ranged from the practicalities of Mr Roberts’ work to medical ethics, and he gave advice to students on work experience in medicine ahead of their applications to university

“This was a great opportunity for students to hear from, and ask questions of, someone who is at the forefront of a highly skilled profession, and students expressed their thanks to Mr Roberts for taking the time to come and speak to them,” said Mr Croad.

Mr Roberts gave JKHS his time as part of the ‘Speakers for Schools’ scheme. 

Set up by ITV journalist Robert Peston, this scheme aims to “end educational inequality by giving all young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools in the UK.”

More than 1,000 leading public figures from many walks of life give their time freely to come and speak to school students.

Operational headteacher, David Boyd, said that he was delighted that JKHS students had benefitted from the scheme, and he hoped that the school would be able to welcome other speakers as part of the programme in the future.