British schools are investigating new ways to instil resilience in pupils. Susan Young went on a mission to find out about the programmes adapted from military and sports psychology that are producing startling results among our young people

Grit is the new watchword in education. But what does it really mean and how do schools instil it? Mike Hamilton, of Commando Joe’s, which delivers character-building education in schools, has some answers.

“When you walk into a primary school as a Commando Joe’s instructor, you are like a superhero,” he says. “The kids dive on you, tell you about their swimming badges and their attendance awards. For the first three to six months they want to do well to impress their instructor but at six to nine months there’s an intrinsic change, where they decide they want to be better pupils and change for themselves rather than somebody else. For me that’s fantastic.”

With the Government focusing on grit and resilience education for children, organisations such as Commando Joe’s are extremely busy. Schools are keen to show they can do more than simply deliver good academic results. Increasingly sophisticated programmes are giving children tools more familiar to athletes and soldiers, helping them find the strength of character to overcome setbacks and, as Hamilton says, to change for themselves.

Commando Joe’s has more than 70 army veterans working in 50 schools, with the aim of helping children cope with a more demanding curriculum, gain employment skills and make a valuable contribution to British society. The Government has set up an award scheme and is supplying funding.