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Refugee, champion weight-lifter, mental health nurse – Cyrille Tchatchet meets pupils from a Birmingham School of Sanctuary

St Peter’s RC Primary School in  Bartley Green received the School of Sanctuary Award in early 2022 and shows real commitment to living the vision. As part of this, they invited Cyrille Tchatchet to speak to the pupils about his life, and how he combines being a champion weight-lifter with his profession as a mental-health nurse. It was very moving to hear how his experiences as an asylum-seeker in the UK led him to his nursing vocation after being inspired by some of the people who helped him along his journey. Originally from Cameroun, he is now proud to be a British citizen and to represent the UK in international weight-lifting events. He also competed in the Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic Team, and was happy to donate a signed copy of the team shirt to the school.