Formula One Racing Champ Took Pole Position at Dyslexia Event
Former world champion Formula One racing driver, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, made a rare appearance in Scotland when he came to QMU in 2014 to talk about his personal experiences of living with dyslexia.
‘An Audience with Sir Jackie Stewart’ which took the form of an evening conversation with the racing champ, aimed to raise awareness of dyslexia and improve access to higher education.
Attracting over 200 people, this very personal event saw Jackie open up about his lifelong struggles with dyslexia.
Sir Jackie left school at 15 years of age, but his dyslexia was not diagnosed until much later. He found his personal voice in sport; first as an Olympic-class shooter, then as a three-time World Champion motor racing driver.
At the time of the event, he was President of Dyslexia Scotland, Vice President of the British Dyslexia Association, and Vice President of the Scottish International Education Trust. As well as being awarded an OBE in 1972 and knighted in 2001, he held eight honorary doctorates from US, Scottish and English universities.
That evening, Jackie was accompanied by his friend Sir Tom Farmer, the Founding Chancellor of QMU. Both men enjoyed sharing the stage in the Halle Lecture Theatre, but Sir Jackie had to be quickly whisked off immediately after his talk to take part in a live STV interview on campus led by broadcaster, Sarah Smith. He was in big demand during his short time in Scotland, so it was a great honour for us to have secured him for this one-off event. We were also delighted that his talk allowed us to demonstrate our commitment to supporting ÀÏ˾»úÊÓƵs with dyslexia as part of our continued work in improving access to higher education.
