Overcome your fears and you'll fly high - just ask Jon!

New research has revealed Britain’s biggest fears in an effort to find fearless young learners.

Surprisingly, the biggest fear of modern young Brits is skydiving!

A whopping 54% of those asked were scared of the activity, followed by a third (34%) who are scared of public speaking and the 9% whose biggest fear is exams.

Just 5% said they were fear-free.

Some, it seems, are braver than others in facing these fears.

Less than one in ten (8%) do something that scares them every day, with just over half feeling the fear occasionally and a third rarely taking part in something scary.

Jon Chubb, newsreader at our sister radio station Revolution 96.2, managed to raise an impressive £740 for Willow Wood Hospice through a sponsored skydive earlier this year.

We asked him how facing modern Britain’s biggest fear felt.

Jon replied: “I was nervous going into it. The worst bit was actually the initial falling out.

“Then after ten seconds, and realising I had someone strapped to my back who knew what they were doing, it was great.

“I am not surprised at all that it’s Britain’s biggest fear. I’m glad I’ve done it.

"I would recommend for people to do it – but I’ll only be doing it once.”

The researchers also asked what people were most scared of when they were children.

This time, over a third (36%) were most afraid of getting something wrong.

For 27%, their biggest fear was the dark, and 17% making new friends. 1 in 5 participants said there was nothing they remembered fearing as a child.

The research was conducted by Explore Learning, one of the UK’s leading providers of maths and English tuition for children aged four to 14.

They are trying to encourage young people to be fearless learners and those around them to celebrate their perseverance in the face of challenges.

In this respect, the data is encouraging. 49% of parents in Britain felt strongly about encouraging their children to be fearless by teaching them that mistakes are okay and to be independent (26%).

A third said that overcoming your biggest fears is something to be really proud of.

Charlotte Gater, Head of Curriculum at Explore Learning, said: “It’s so interesting to see that although Brits are open about their fears, they still encourage their children to be fearless.

"At Explore Learning it is our mission to create confident, fearless learners, who are hungry for knowledge.

"We’re looking forward to hearing of ways children have embraced and overcome challenges, achieving their goals.” 

To nominate a child as the nation’s most fearless learner, use the hashtag #FearlessLearners on Facebook (/explorelearning) or Twitter (@exploretutors).

To find out more, visit: explorelearning.co.uk/fearless-competition.

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