Gabby Logan MBE Inspires Hundreds of Girls at Lordswood Girls’ School and Sixth Form Centre in Harborne, Birmingham

“Challenges Make You as a Person” – Gabby Logan

On the 29th of January 2025, inspirational speaker Gabby Logan delivered her first Speakers for Schools school talk at Lordswood Girls’ School and Sixth Form Centre in Birmingham.

The hall was filled with young people from Year 7 through to Year 11, all eagerly waiting for the school talk to begin. Gabby’s slides were up, showing the title of her talk: “A View Across the Boundary – My Journey in Women’s Sport”.

A group of female students gathers outside Lordswood School for Girls, engaged in conversation. Broadcaster and former gymnast Gabby Logan MBE stands among them, wearing a navy blazer and smiling with her arms crossed. The school's name and crest are visible on the building behind them.

Headteacher, Kerry Cooney, introduced inspirational speaker Gabby Logan and her talk, asking the students to reflect during the school talk and think of questions they’d like to ask Gabby about her career or anything they wanted to learn more about.

Gabby Logan Shares Her Journey in Sports and Broadcasting

Gabby Logan MBE stands on a stage delivering an inspirational talk to a hall full of students at Lordswood School for Girls. She gestures toward a presentation slide titled “Women in a man’s world?” featuring images of male sports presenters and herself. The students, dressed in dark uniforms, sit attentively on benches and the floor, listening to her speech.

Gabby began her school talk by explaining that while she would focus on women’s sports and her career, there were many life lessons to take away, no matter what industry or career path the students were interested in.

The young people were intently listening to Gabby as she went through her start in life, schooling, and changes to where she was living – Leeds, Toronto and then onto Coventry. Gabby shared the story of her brother, Daniel passing when she was young. Gabby reflected on how the loss of her brother impacted her during her early life and how she always thinks of him.

From Blue Peter to Sports Broadcasting

We then heard from Gabby about her start in sports broadcasting. When Gabby was younger, she appeared on Blue Peter as part of her gymnastics, and this first sparked her interest in TV and broadcasting.

Gabby wrote to the editor of Blue Peter with hopes of working in TV and was told to study and come back when she was older. This didn’t deter Gabby as she went on to study Law at Durham University and during her time there, she gained experience as a newsreader. Gabby reflected that her work in the evenings as a newsreader didn’t fully like a job (yet!).

Gabby always showed interest in sports during her time as a newsreader. Although she didn’t see many female sports reporters, she moved to touchline reporting and eventually realised that she had a career in sports.

Overcoming Challenges as a Female Sports Broadcaster

The school talk then focused on Gabby’s experience of being one of the only female sports broadcasters and the challenges she faced in a male-dominated industry. She described how she was often sidelined by TV executives and how she persevered to land her dream job at the BBC.

She shared how covering the Olympics was a personal goal and a defining moment in her career.

The Rise of Women’s Sport and Career Opportunities in the Industry

For the final part of the talk, Gabby shared some statistics and facts about women’s sport and how far it has come. She shared with the young people how women’s sports have become attractive to brands and a huge increase in the number of people watching women’s sports on mainstream TV. Gabby also shared with the young people the vast range of careers available from accountants to reporters and many more!

Gabby Logan MBE stands on a stage delivering an inspirational talk to a hall full of students at Lordswood School for Girls. She is holding a glass of water with her arms gesturing as she delivers an inspirational talk enthusiastically to the students.

Student Q&A

We then had time for a Q&A session, with students asking thought-provoking questions, including:

“If you could switch lives with one sports star for a day, who would it be?”

“What’s the hardest part about preparing for a big event like the Olympics or the World Cup?”

“Who’s your favourite Lioness?”

A Huge Thank You to Gabby Logan and Lordswood Girls’ School

Opportunities like these are only possible thanks to our valued inspirational speaker network. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this event happen, to Lordswood Girls’ School for hosting, and to Gabby Logan MBE for dedicating her time to deliver such an impactful school talk to the students.

Interested in hosting a Speaker at your school? Get in touch today!