Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie won five consecutive Olympic medals from 1996, including four golds between 2000 and 2012. He is the founder of the 1851 Trust, a charity supported by the Duchess of Cambridge, which seeks to engage young people with science through the cutting-edge technology used in high-performance sport.

He chatted to Tes about his time in school, the teachers who had a big impact on his life and how he turned his packed lunches into a money-making enterprise.

1. Where did you go to primary school?

I grew up in Cheshire, just south of Manchester, and when I was about 8 years old, my family relocated to Cornwall. It was quite a big shift at that age, to go from growing up in the North of England and then moving down to the sunny climes of Cornwall. Making new friends and all the rest of it is a big shift.

2. Where did you go to secondary school?

I was at Truro School, and there I got more heavily into sailing and sport. My family eventually moved to Hampshire, and so I ended up going to a college called Peter Symonds College, which is where I finished off my A levels.

3. Something else came up during your A levels, though, didn’t it?

Well, I did get there in the end, but you’re right: I ended up qualifying for the Olympics in my final year. I had a deal with my mum. I promised her that I’d go back and finish off my A levels after the Olympics.

And I did go back to college but then I was already training for the 2000 Olympics, and I found that my training schedule really didn’t fit with a college schedule.

But I was really fortunate, I managed to sign a sponsor for the 2000 Olympics, so I used a bit of the money to be able to fund myself to go to a tutorial college to finish off my A levels and sign off that deal with my mum. I was pleased that I did that - hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.

4. Is there a particular teacher you remember from school?

Yes, there is. Mr Pierce, David Pierce, who was my science teacher and also the sports teacher. Not only was he a great science teacher, but - probably more importantly for me - he was my inspiration for getting into sports. I wouldn’t say I’m a naturally gifted sportsperson but Mr Pierce really instilled in me (and the rest of my peer group) a passion for sport.

You might not necessarily be the best at a young age, [but if you] really apply yourself to something and have that determination to keep learning and to keep practising, then you can progress really quickly, particularly at a young age.

And that was the case for me. He helped me massively and really inspired me to get into sport and I’m sure helped me on my way to get into sailing.

5. What sort of student were you?

I wasn’t overly academic. I did OK in my exams and made it through, but I wasn’t ever going to be an academic. I was more interested in action and in sports.

One of my favourite teachers was a chap called Dr Gainey, who was our physics teacher. Physics wasn’t my favourite subject - it kind of is now because of the sailing, but not back then. I remember having work folders and, inside, I’d stuck in all these pictures of racing boats, so I’d be pretending to look at my notes and was actually looking at these photos of racing boats.

Dr Gainey was a real character. He used to scare us; when he really lost his temper, he really blew up. I used to be constantly on his radar as one of those people that wasn’t really paying any attention. So I developed a very good knack of being able to just about retain enough information so that when he asked what I was looking at in my folder - was it sailing boats again or was I actually paying attention? - I could just about wangle my way through it.

6. What trips do you remember?

My best memory of school trips was at my first school. I would have been about nine or 10 years old and we had a school trip to London, which you can imagine - coming from the deepest depths of the south-west of Cornwall, going up to the Big Smoke - that was a real excitement for us.

We did all of the main museums, the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, and we stayed at Baden-Powell House on Gloucester Road. And I remember being very naughty and throwing low-grade bangers out of the window and scaring some poor passerby. But I also remember being in awe of London, the history and the culture.

7. Did you ever get detention?

There were a couple. I wasn’t a perfect pupil, so there were a couple of times I got myself into trouble and had to write a few lines out, but I think, all things considered, I wasn’t too bad.

8. What were school lunchtimes like?

They weren’t particularly good, so I actually ended up creating a bit of a side business. I was day pupil, and it was a part-boarding, part-day school, so I ended up developing a bit of a side business with some of the boarders to sell them my packed lunch [and] taking orders.

My poor mum couldn’t really understand why I kept changing my mind: “I’m really into corned beef at the moment, Mum.” I was making quite a decent income from my little side business.

9. Did you ever get involved in any school performances?

No, no, no, no. I don’t seem to possess any rhythm at all. Or understanding of rhythm, or anything musical, artistic, theatrical. Fortunately, my wife, Georgie, is more creative; we’re a good mix in that respect.

10. What urban legends did you have at school?

Kids are convinced that everywhere is always haunted, especially a big old house, and most schools tend to be big old buildings. I’ve never believed in ghosts, so I sort of didn’t really have much to do with that one. But there were definitely kids in school who were convinced that there were ghosts wandering around the place.

Sir Ben Ainslie was talking to Grainne Hallahan, senior content writer at Tes

The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix takes place in Plymouth on 17-18 July. For more on the Stem Crew education platform, founded by Sir Ben’s 1851 Trust, visit www.STEMCrew.org

This article originally appeared in the 9 July 2021 issue