Huge congratulations to Marley, the winner of the 2025 Jack Petchey Outstanding Achiever Award.
A pupil at Alexandra Park School, he is a Panathlon Sports Leader and participant – and in 2024 was the subject of an award-winning documentary ‘Equal Play’, campaigning for more sporting opportunities for young people with disabilities, in which he shares how sport has transformed his life, helping with his mental and physical health.
He was invited to Paris for a screening during the Paralympics, where he met with secretary of state for culture, media and sport Lisa Nandy MP.
Marley discovered Panathlon after joining Alexandra Park at the start of Year 9, taking part in a Multi Skills Panathlon Challenge competition in the summer of 2023, which led to him getting involved in a whole range of sports including sailing, boxing, tennis and more, as well as helping lead events.
And now he has picked up this year’s Jack Petchey Outstanding Achiever Award – on the day he completed his GCSE examinations, receiving it from Harry Bowtell, a previous winner of a Jack Petchey award and now a Panathlon event manager himself.
“His mum and nan were so proud of him gaining this recognition from the Jack Petchey Foundation and Panathlon Challenge, as are all of us at APS,” says Bren Amoothy, inclusion in PE and school sport lead. “The contribution that Marley has made to his local community and the courage it has taken for him to share his story with its lows and highs is a testament to his fearlessness.”
Teacher Kate Perry added: “Marley is the most wonderful young person. He’s an absolute joy to work with, he brightens everyone’s day without realising it just by being him. We are immensely proud of his contribution to Panathlon and grateful for the opportunities Marley has been given by the charity.”
