Motivational coach Dee Bleakley returned to the north last week for an inspirational workshop with local school pupils.
Across three days, Dee worked with more than 250 pupils at Thurso High School, Wick High School and Farr High School, delivering sessions on self-awareness, positive habit formation, study skills and confidence-building. The workshops were highly interactive, encouraging students to think about how mindset, decision-making and self-control can influence their future success.
The sessions come as part of Focus North’s ongoing engagement with young people following insights from the Developing the Young Workforce annual survey, where young people said they needed help with motivation, self-esteem and confidence.
Listening to those voices is an important priority for Focus North. At our 2025 Annual Conference, school pupils joined the stage for the first time to speak directly about their experiences and aspirations. It was a powerful moment that reinforced the importance of ensuring their perspectives help shape future regional priorities.
Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the practical advice and interactive challenges as helping them think differently about motivation, study and self-belief.
Comments from pupils included:
“It made me feel more confident in myself and made me feel like a better person.”
“It helped me understand how important mindset is.”
“I think now I’m going to put more effort in as I wasn’t putting as much effort in as I was capable of.”
By continuing to create opportunities like these, Focus North hopes to build stronger connections between industry, education and the next generation – ensuring young people across the region feel supported, motivated and confident about their futures.