Marshalls Park Academy's year nine students had a special guest Zoom call with local heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher recently.

Fisher, known as the Romford Bull, spoke about how hard he has worked at his school and sports life.

The 21-year-old told the students about what motivates him, gave advice to all about believing in themselves, and never giving up.

He also went on to explain to the students how important education is and to make sure they pick the correct pathway in life.

At the end, he took questions from the students and allowed them to understand that it is about working hard to achieve your end goals.

"It was lovely to hear him speak not only about his sporting success however about the academical side of life as well," said Andy Bezant, head of year nine.

“It was brilliant to have Johnny give up his time to have a talk with the students. It was a privilege to teach Johnny when he was here and for him to now still be part of the MPA family is fantastic. He and his family are the kindest people you can meet and we will be supporting him throughout his career.”

Fisher added: “Marshalls Park was a huge part of my life growing up, I had some great role models and it helped shape me as a young man with ambitions and a hunger to do well for myself.

“It was great to talk to the year nines as it wasn’t that long ago I was in their position and had a lot of choices to make ahead of me.

“I hope my advice of throwing yourself into every opportunity that presents itself to you will be taken on board.

“If they listen to the advice of the great teachers at MPA and choose a pathway that they enjoy, then there is no reason why they can’t fulfil their potential.

“They have some exciting times ahead and I believe the MPA family environment they are lucky to be a part of will only help them moving forward.

“I have some great memories from Marshalls Park and I’m grateful for my time there, I still have a long way to go myself to reach my goals but I’ve been given the best chance to do it. A big part of that is to do with the opportunity and experiences I gained at Marshalls.”