“The Teachers Panicked about whether I Could Cope” – What Ade Adepitan Learnt at School
Athlete and presenter Ade Adepitan contracted polio as a baby but soon learnt to keep up with his classmates in mainstream school
My parents were teachers back in Nigeria. For them, education was the be-all and end-all.
Coming from Africa, they had that immigrant mentality of education being the one way to better your life and improve your social circumstances. My dad would often say, “You are black, you are disabled, you have to work twice as hard as everybody in this country.”
My parents would stress to me how important it was that I got a good education. In Africa, to be educated increases your social status and gives you an air of respectability.
I missed about a year of schooling because the education authority was arguing with my parents about whether I’d be able to go to mainstream school. It took a while for my parents to find one that would accept me.
During that year I was home tutored by my parents so when I did join a school I was probably ahead of the other kids, but I was easily distracted. I had a really active brain and was always daydreaming.
Some teachers just saw me as mischievous and a chatterbox. I got in trouble for talking in class and having a laugh with my friends. It developed into me being a little bit more rebellious and the knock-on effect of that was that I probably didn’t learn as much as I should have. It led to me thinking I was less intelligent than I actually am.
My parents weren’t really that keen on me playing sport because their main focus was education. They wanted me to be a doctor or a scientist. When I told them I wanted to be a basketball player they thought I was absolutely nuts and banned me from playing. I used to sneak off to tournaments.
The transition to secondary school was tough physically because I was walking on calipers and it was a longer walk to get there. I remember in one of the first transitions between lessons getting knocked down the stairs in the rush.
The teachers panicked about whether I was going to be able to cope, but I got over it and it toughened me up. I learnt to keep up with the pace of the other kids and if I did get tired my mates would sometimes carry me.
My English teacher, Tim Kerin, made me realise that I could write. He made it interesting and was very funny. He would also ask me how I was and what was going on in my life. He was really cool – apart from the fact that he was a Tottenham fan!
I wanted to play trumpet in the school band. We had a visiting music teacher and when I asked him if I could, he said my lips were too big. At the time I didn’t know about all the great trumpet players who were black and looked like me. I thought it was unfair. I really wanted to do it, but he obviously didn’t want me to.
The gang in my new book is an amalgamation of friends from school and my neighbourhood. I was this African kid with a strong Nigerian accent. I walked and talked differently but because I loved football and was quite quick-witted I made friends quite easily.
We got bullied by the other kids but we always backed each other up. That was our bond – that’s what kept us together.
We’re living in a world which is becoming more and more complicated and confusing for the younger generation. You’ve got Instagram – which is great – but it’s all about how many likes you can get.
The world has suddenly become this massive popularity contest and if you’re not getting the attention you feel you deserve, it can seem like the world is against you. I want my book to send out the message that you can be different. With good friends and determination, you can make something successful out of your life.
Ade Adepitan’s new book, Ade’s Amazing Ade-ventures: Battle of the Cyborg Cat (£5.99, Studio Press), is on sale now.
