I left Rupert House in 2002 for St Swithun’s where I was able to further my love of sport which was first developed at Rupert House. I was part of the St Swithun’s lacrosse team that won Schools Nationals in 2008 and won a Sports Scholarship to Durham University. I was also a key member of the Wales U19 and U21 lacrosse teams for several years and my career highlight was the U21 Home Internationals in 2008 when Wales were crowned champions.

After university, I qualified as a Physiotherapist and worked in the NHS in London for 3 years working in a range of areas of healthcare to gain experience of the profession. My passion for fitness and the great outdoors led me to decide to join the Army.

I went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for my initial military training. During this time, I was taught basic military skills as well as leadership skills to support me in my role as an Army Officer. Sandhurst gave me the opportunity to explore and understand courage and resilience in depth – values that I was first introduced to at Rupert House.

Since completing training at Sandhurst, I have been working as Second in Command of a Regional Rehabilitation Unit treating injured soldiers and aiming to get them back to full fitness as quickly as possible. The job is demanding and has allowed me to progress both as a physio and as an Officer. Outside of physiotherapy, the Army has given me a range of additional opportunities. I have represented the Army at Lacrosse and have attended triathlon training camps. I am hoping to go skiing with the Army next winter and am looking forward to completing my competent crew qualification in sailing.

My education at Rupert House School was important to give me a good base on which to build skills for my future career. Physical Education at Rupert House gave me a good understanding of the importance of physical activity for health and allowed me to explore and develop a passion for sport. I was given positions of responsibility from a young age and this early experience of leadership supported my development in later life through to becoming a successful Officer.

I have had cerebral palsy (CP) since my birth in 1995 in Istanbul due to being born at 28 weeks. As a result of my premature birth I was born with mild spastic diplegia mainly affecting my legs and I have a weaker left side. My arms are also slightly affected.

This is because when I was born, part of my brain did not receive enough oxygen so did not develop correctly. This means that my brain sends the wrong signals to my legs, so the muscles are constantly contracting. This impacts on my walking which is slower. My natural gait is from toe to heel rather than heel to toe; when I walk my feet do not clear the ground as efficiently. In addition, my balance is impacted so I am more likely to trip and fall. I am very lucky that my CP did not affect me mentally and that physically, it is very mild, so I am able to lead an active life.

Despite these limitations, I have always been a determined individual and have never let my CP stop me from doing anything. In August 2019, I started writing a blog about living with cerebral palsy. https://yasmindenehy.home.blog/

I have shared my experiences of living with CP covering everything from my commute, treatment, sport, travelling, cooking and people’s opinions to both raise awareness of what it means to live with cerebral palsy and help others living with disability. I have been overwhelmed with the positive response my blog has received and have really enjoyed connecting with other people with CP through social media as I did not previously know anyone with the condition. I have had so many positive responses from people living all over the world.

Rupert House were great at never treating me any differently to my peers whilst providing the support that I needed. For example, during sports day, I still had the opportunity to take part and race. Doing the 800 meters everyone else lined up on the start line, but I would walk away from the start with my sports teacher to give me a head start. My teacher and I would walk forward, and she would ask me when I thought I was far enough ahead; I would stop and get ready to run my race. This meant that I nearly finished at the same time as everyone else because of my head start. However, I still finished last despite my accelerated start, but I had the whole school cheering me over the finish line when I was the last one left running. This is just one example of the support that Rupert House provided me. The attitude of all the teachers at school enhanced my determination to not let my CP stop me from doing anything that I wanted in life, an attitude which has served me well throughout school and university to today whilst working in London.