Luke Cornforth

Luke Cornforth is a Jamie's Home Cooking Skills student at Grace Academy, West Midlands. Luke has a Statement of Special Education Needs to support him. He has moderate learning difficulties which are exacerbated by the fact that Luke suffered a brain infection in January 2009 that left him hospitalised in the Birmingham Children's Hospital for many weeks. As a result Luke experiences epilepsy and has found the return to school very challenging. The one constant in Luke's return to school has been his enjoyment of the Food Practical lessons. In September he had very few skills and had little, if any confidence when in a practical environment. Now, Luke understands basic culinary terms and can cook with a much reduced amount of guidance from staff. Above all, he really enjoys the lessons, he is passionate about taking his products home and we have seen him blossom. It would be a fantastic achievement for him to participate in any aspect of the Olympics especially as he comes from a home in a severely deprived area of the country and has probably never ventured much further than Birmingham.