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In a compelling Fireside Talk, Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, CEO of Leeds Rhinos and former England rugby league international, challenged pupils to think deeply about what enables individuals and teams to flourish.
Drawing on a career spanning more than 400 appearances, seven Super League titles and now senior leadership, Jamie looked beyond sporting achievement to a broader question: what really underpins sustained success?
For Jamie, the answer lies in three ideas: belief, belonging and behaviour.
At the heart of the evening was a simple but powerful principle:
“No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Jamie distilled this philosophy into CARE: Courage, Altruism, Resilience and Enjoyment — four qualities which, he argued, underpin not only high performance, but the character required to sustain it.
But values, Jamie stressed, only make a difference when they are translated into action. He encouraged pupils to focus on the systems behind success: pursuing growth, setting clear goals, being authentic, maintaining focus, embracing high challenge and, importantly, taking time to celebrate the win.
Jamie’s final challenge was a personal one: to think carefully about the people we surround ourselves with, the courage we show when things are difficult, and the habits that shape us when nobody is watching.
It was a fitting conclusion to an evening that moved far beyond rugby. Belief gives us confidence, belonging gives us purpose, and behaviour turns both into action. Jamie’s message was ultimately one of possibility: that excellence is not simply something we possess, but something we build through the choices we make, the standards we set and the way we help others to flourish.
