Secondary school students in Weymouth studying Health and Social Care were treated to a talk by an inspirational speaker.

Anna Kent is a humanitarian aid worker, an NHS nurse and midwife who has cared for others in challenging circumstances across the world.

She has also written and published several books about her experiences including Frontline Midwife: My Story of Survival and Keeping Others Safe and Frontline Midwife: Finding Hope in Life Death and Birth.

The talk was held in the library at Wey Valley Academy on Dorchester Road to a group of Year 10 and 11 students, during which they learned about Ms Kent’s life and career.

Ms Kent said: “Everyone deserves access to healthcare no matter where they are. I was deeply affected by Live Aid as a child and the images of starving children.”

She discussed her career with the class and after completing a diploma in tropical nursing, she joined Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in 2007, which saw her flying out to South Sudan to work as an outreach nurse.

Recounting her time as a nurse, she recounted when she witnessed one woman who had walked for nine days to reach the centre where she was based, having no access to a midwife closer to where she lived, and at a dangerous point in labour.

One student said: “The session has really inspired me to consider becoming a midwife in the future - I thought that the talk was aspirational, raw, emotive and centred around experiences.”

Head of Performing Arts and Teaching and Learning Challenge Lead, Mark Chutter said: “This was such a powerful opportunity for our students wanting to work for the NHS and beyond.”