Introducing British ice dancing champions, Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez.
Phebe and James made their international debut as a team at the September 2021 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovenia. Since then they have gone on to win two consecutive national championships. They finished in the top 10 in the 2022 Junior World Championships, placed 4th at the 2023 Junior World Championships, were the first British ice dancers to receive a medal at a junior Grand Prix and the first British Skaters, ever, to qualify for the Grand Prix final. And if that’s not enough, they also have their sights set on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan!
Phebe joined Wolsey Hall in 2019 and successfully achieved her IGCSEs™ while juggling a very busy training and competition schedule.
The Wolsey Hall philosophy has always been to support students to achieve their full potential and we were thrilled to sponsor this incredibly talented and dedicated duo as they strengthened their ice dance partnership.
Phebe’s Story
Sixteen-year-old skater Phebe Bekker made her international debut with her ice dance partner James at the September 2021 ISU Junior Grand Prix. Since then they have become the first British ice dancers to receive a medal at a junior Grand Prix and the first British Skaters to qualify for the Grand Prix final. Now they have their sights set on competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan! Phebe studied for her IGCSEs with Wolsey Hall and shared her experience of what it’s like to be a homeschooling elite athlete.
“I really like homeschooling with Wolsey Hall as the flexibility around my school work has really benefitted my training. The biggest challenge for me is that I tend to fall behind if I’ve had a long week training with not many spare hours. To overcome this, I like to spend time at the weekend catching up or going over topics I struggle with.”
Beginning my passion
“I started skating when I was eight years old, which is actually quite late to start. I went to a public skate session every Saturday morning with my friend. I got better each week by teaching myself tricks I saw the older girls doing and one day a coach came to me and asked if I wanted lessons. With the lessons, I slowly progressed to mornings before school and then later, I was training every day. I became British Solo Ice Dance Champion in 2018 and 2019 and in that year, I took an opportunity to change skating disciplines. Switching to ice dancing, I began skating with a boy in London. The training was longer and I had to make the sacrifice to leave school so that I had more time. This is when I started homeschooling with Wolsey Hall.
I found the transition between full time school and online school a bit challenging as I had to get used to a new way of learning but I adapted due to Wolsey Hall’s amazing resources.”
Studies vs training
“My training times vary daily but average at around 4-5 hours a day. When completed I plan a school schedule of what I want to achieve and after that, the rest of the day is spent doing whatever I want (this normally includes sleeping and eating!) On the week of a competition, I do like to minimise my school work as I have a lot to focus on but I slowly ease back into studying after the competition’s over and catch up on what I have to do.
My favourite subject is Psychology. I find learning about it in sport helps and in a training and competitive setting I learn about how different things affect your mind.”
Future aspirations
“I skated with my previous partner for a year but it didn’t work out long-term. After spending some time looking for a new partner, I was asked to skate with my now partner, James. James has already represented Great Britain at the international junior grand prix tournaments. There are four other couples competing for Olympic qualification in two years’ time but our coaches are Nicholas Buckland and Penny Coomes, three-time Olympians that represented GB and we have high hopes of following in their footsteps.
My hopes for the future is to look back in 20 years and know that I have done everything in my power to achieve my ambitions.”
An interview with James Hernandez
Wolsey Hall Oxford first met James Hernandez when his ice dancing partner, Phebe Bekker, enrolled on our IGCSE homeschooling courses in 2019. Since then we have enjoyed watching this charismatic and incredibly talented pair, – go from strength to strength – most recently securing a place in the ISU Junior Grand Prix finals in Turin, Italy.
Wolsey Hall Oxford is proud to play a small part in their journey, by way of sponsorship, and look forward to seeing what the future has in store.
We recently interviewed James to find out more about how he became involved in ice dancing, his inspiration, hobbies and plans for the future.
How old were you when you first became involved in ice skating/ice dancing?
I began skating when I was just four years old after reluctantly attending my sister’s ice skating birthday party! We joke to this day about it – I will be forever grateful she dragged along her little brother as I might not have ever started skating without her!
When did you realise your interest was more than just a hobby?
It wasn’t a singular moment that made me realise skating was no longer a hobby. My first two coaches, whom I owe so much to, offered me the opportunity to compete in open competitions. These events take place all over the country. I enjoyed them a lot, and had some successes alongside that. This paved the way for me to focus solely on Ice Dance and start with my first ever partner aged 12! It was around 13 or 14 that I realised this sport was maybe something that I could do for a career.
Is there a coach or athlete that you look up to as a role model and why?
It’s actually quite incredible when I write this down, but the person I attribute my initial love of ice dancing to was Nicholas Buckland, who is now my current coach! I remember watching him and his partner, Penny Coombes, when I was 11 or 12 years old and being in complete awe of them. I have a really old photo dating back to 2014 where I asked for a photo with them at IceSheffield- I suppose that was a defining moment where I decided Olympic ice dancing was a future that I wanted.
Did you ever consider giving up ice-dancing and if so, what motivated you to keep going?
Yes, I did! Around 8 or 9, I started to lose some of the enjoyment that previously kept me so hooked in early childhood years. My mother was so supportive of me as a person, not just as an athlete. She never tried to influence my decision to continue or quit skating and never tried to tell me what was right or wrong. After 6 months off the ice, I got so bored not skating and missed the feeling of flying that I had to come back to the sport.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of ice dancing?
I am an outdoorsy person! I love everything about being outside, whether it’s hiking, tennis or just enjoying the sunshine. During the spring or summer, if you can’t find me in the rink, you’ll probably find me on the golf course. Golfing is my favourite sport next to skating and my favourite hobby. It’s my release, it’s my ‘energy restorer’ and it lets me direct my perfectionism into something other than skating for once! I’m also very passionate about football, I follow Chelsea religiously even if I am thousands of miles away!
Do you have any short-term goals you’d like to accomplish in the next few months to a couple of years?
It’s always difficult to set goals because of all time constraints when we participate in a sport that is largely controlled by other people like judges. But we find it super important to set goals, big and small. We have already accomplished our main goal for this season, which was to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix final in Italy. We are the first British dance team to ever do so. Our goal for the upcoming months is to put everything we can into training for The Junior World Championships and finish the season with two performances we know are the absolute best we could produce!
Parenting elite athletes
Behind every remarkable athlete lies a devoted parent, tirelessly supporting their child’s pursuit of greatness. From the early morning practices to the nerve-wracking competitions, this journey is an exhilarating rollercoaster of emotions, sacrifices, and immense pride.
We recently spoke to Norm and Lynn Bekker, parents of Wolsey Hall Oxford student and elite athlete, Phebe Bekker, to find out more about their experience.
When did you first realise that ice skating / ice dancing might be more than just a hobby for Phebe?
It was evident right from the beginning that Phebe had a huge talent for moving on ice. Her ability to move gracefully and to interpret music and her confidence in performing put Phebe ahead of the game and was demonstrated in the many podium places that followed. Phebe trained and competed in two disciplines, Free Skating and Solo Ice Dance. It wasn’t long before it became evident that Ice Dance and twice winning the title of British Champion, was the area that Phebe needed to focus on.
We found the feedback from iceskating coaches as well as ballet and dance teachers, massively complimentary. This together with our own belief in Phebe, encouraged us to support her as one step led to the next. Phebe started trying out for Ice Dance partnerships and we both knew that we were witnessing something very special. Phebe subsequently joined up with her first Ice Dance partner, and it was probably at this point that we knew Ice Dance was more of a vocation than a hobby.
What challenges, if any, did you face when Phebe began training as an elite athlete?
It wasn’t just the ice dancing but all the logistics that comes with it. We were new to the sport ourselves with little knowledge of the detail that sits behind it all. Learning the rules and ethics of the sport, understanding the scoring, the learning paths, finding and editing music for programmes, finding costumes, submissions to competitions, getting her to and from the ice rink in the early mornings ahead of school time.
We soon realised that for Phebe to progress, we had to make it our own hobby and fully immerse ourselves in it, which we did.
The first and most important consideration was how to juggle sport training with school work. On talking to Phebe’s teachers, we realised that it wasn’t possible for her to continue with mainstream education. Homeschooling was discussed but we had little knowledge of how this worked.
Was the decision to homeschool Phebe a difficult one? What if any were your concerns?
Going the homeschooling route is the opposite of going the well trodden path of the traditional schooling. It takes a level of courage to make that decision to deviate from the path. We were asking ourselves all sort of questions:
- Are we responsible parents?
- Is this decision irreversible?
- What if she gets injured and can no longer skate?
- What is the impact on her social life and skills development?
The decision sort of became natural. As we watched Phebe progress we realised this wasn’t just a ‘phase’, we realised that we needed to be ‘all in’ or ‘all out’ for her to get the most out this sport. It is either full-time education and choose the traditional way through life, or choose the elite athlete career path. The homeschooling option gave us that half-way house. When we started to look into it and by speaking to some fellow parents with children being homeschooled, that negative connotation around homeschooling soon disappeared. It became clear the curriculum and the resources that are available online. We are not alone / unique, there are many other parents out there facing similar difficult decisions which gave us some sort of reassurance.
After the pandemic, it can be argued that schooling could well become a hybrid model like the modern workplace is in today’s world. We might just be early adopters with many still to follow. Time will tell.
What are the benefits of homeschooling for elite athletes?
The greatest benefit is the freedom to plan and prioritise the efforts required to get the most out of the sport and education. Homeschooling can be arranged around training, rather than training around education, at times that fit in with the training schedule and doesn’t necessarily need to be taken in the traditional school age year. We feel it is similar to the way we watch / consume television with binge watching, I believe, now a new entry into the Oxford dictionary.
What is the hardest part of being a parent of an elite athlete?
For us, we missed some of her childhood from the age of 15 when Phebe moved to the US. Being at a distance, it is difficult to be the parent who can ‘fix’ things. We miss being the ‘taxi service’ that allowed us to stay in tune with what is in the music charts and catch up adhoc. We miss the shoulder to cry on, in times of need, Phebe is on her own. We miss the stuff that a lot of parents laugh and complain about.
What do you love most about being the parent of an athlete?
Often we are told, ‘you must be so immensely proud’ – in particular when video footage appears on social media of a performance. It is certainly true. Just as we are proud of the personal accomplishments of all three of our children, we are proud of Phebe and James’ ability as a partnership of bringing joy and happiness with their performances.
As we have made it our hobby – we get deeper and deeper into this sport – watching the competitions, seeing the progress that Phebe and James are making, learning and applying permissible interpretation to dancing to music on ice, together with the excitement of new programmes and new costumes all adds to the experience.
I guess we are part of a small number of parents that have the privilege of having an elite athlete in the family. It certainly gets an airing when it comes up in conversation.
Grand prix final for Bekker and Hernandez
This year 2022–23 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and ISU Junior Grand Prix Final were held in Turin, Italy at the Torino Palavela. The combined event is the culmination of two international series — the Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Junior Grand Prix. Competing in the grand prix final were Wolsey Hall Oxford student, Phebe Bekker and her ice dancing partner James Hernandez.
We caught up with Phebe shortly after the pair returned home to the UK. She had the following to say about their experience:
“The Junior Grand Prix Final was truly an experience I’ll never forget. The first day when we walked in to the arena was so surreal that it took a few moments to process. To be competing amongst the top skaters in the world was such a privilege. It certainly took a while to get used to bumping into World Champions in the hotel elevator! We went into every practice with a fighting mentality, determined to leave an impression and we believe that’s what we did.
Going into the Rhythm Dance, we were so confident and we were pleasantly surprised to end up in 2nd place. The atmosphere was amazing, we really just tried to soak it all in. We delivered a routine that we were incredibly proud of but knew that the Free Dance the next day was a completely different ball game. We were relieved when we delivered a good Free Dance with no major mistakes. We came off the ice hopeful but when we received our scores, we were disappointed to see that we ended in 4th. Beside the emotional rollercoaster of the placement in a sport that is subjectively judged, we were so proud of our performances and that we thrived in such a high pressure event. It was also incredible to receive so much support from the crowd and from everyone at home watching. We are so grateful.
James and I are looking forward to the last stage in the season, working towards The Junior World Championships that take place in Calgary, Canada in the beginning of March. We are still striving for more and hope to make a mark on our last Junior season before we make our way into Senior.”
Gold for Bekker and Hernandez
Wolsey Hall student Phebe Bekker and her ice dancing partner, James Hernandez, have once again claimed gold and retained the title of Junior British Ice Dancing champions for the second year in a row.
We recently caught up with Phebe to find out more about their experience.
“Competing in Sheffield for the British Championships is always so special. Coming home and seeing all of our friends and family after time away in the States and then to compete in such a unique environment, makes it one of the best competitions of the season. We used Nationals as stepping stone for The Junior Grand Prix Final. We wanted to see it as a simulation to prepare ourselves mentally for the week in Italy ahead.
We came out of Nationals not too happy with our performances but took it as a positive as it made us even more determined to deliver routines that we knew we could do. We still had a great time and are honoured to be named now, 2x British Junior Ice Dance Champions. It was so lovely to finally perform in front of a home crowd and to receive so much love and support as we headed off to the Grand Prix Final to proudly represent Great Britain.”
British Ice Skating Champions
Sixteen year old Phebe Bekker and her ice dancing partner, James Hernanadez, recently competed in Sheffield to win the title of Junior British Ice Skating Champions for 2021.
Phebe and James only announced their ice dancing partnership in January 2021. Since then they have been busy training in the US before competing in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Gdansk, Poland.
In December, Phebe and James participated in the British Championships in Sheffield where they received first place for their short program as well as their free skating. The pair then skated off with first place overall with a score of 148.03 and the new title of British Junior Champions 2021.
“After that we hope to compete in the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. Despite being a full-time athlete, I also wanted to ensure I receive a high quality education. All this has been made possible by combining my long hours on the ice with the flexible home schooling system available through Wolsey Hall. Last summer I received my IGCSE results and to say I was pleased is an understatement. The two grades I was most proud of was my 9 in English Language and my 8 in Psychology. Homeschooling has taught me so much more than I thought possible and has opened up so many incredible opportunities. It’s also given me a lot of independence which I love more than anything.”
You can follow Phebe’s progress and click here to view her experiences through several videos she’s made for Wolsey Hall.
Studying with Wolsey Hall – by skater, Phebe Bekker
Sixteen year old British ice-skating champion, Phebe Bekker, is currently in the USA training with the hope of competing in the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics whilst studying with Wolsey Hall. In this blog post she shares what it’s like to homeschool with Wolsey Hall and how homeschooling has enabled her to follow her dreams without compromising her education.
"Hi, my name is Phebe Bekker and I am a homeschooled athlete studying with Wolsey Hall. My ice dance partner, James, and I train in the US whilst representing Great Britain. I just wanted to put together a little blog post and talk about my experience with Wolsey Hall so far and how being homeschooled has benefitted me. I just want to start by saying that studying with Wolsey Hall has opened up so many new opportunities for me, especially due to the flexible schedule that it offers. As a full-time athlete, most of my day is spent on the ice training which doesn’t allow me to go to a regular school with set hours. I did try that for a few months but I ended up going into school at lunchtime and only going to three lessons a day. I ended up being really far behind all of my classmates and was obviously not a sustainable route to take."
Flexibility to study when and where I like
"My parents and I started to look into homeschooling and we came across Wolsey Hall which had also been mentioned to us through friends and other parents. What made us chose Wolsey Hall Oxford, over some of the other companies, was the completely independent schedule. This sounded perfect for me as I could work anywhere in the world whenever I wanted. It was really that freedom and flexibility which made me prefer homeschooling as opposed to attending a regular school. Everyone has their own reason to switch to homeschooling, however at first, I wasn’t sure if it was a choice I definitely wanted to make. I loved school and I loved seeing my friends everyday but I loved my sport more and I knew what sacrifices I had to make to be the best athlete I could be. Now I look back, I don’t see school as a thing I had to sacrifice. Homeschooling has taught me so much more than I realise and has opened up so many incredible opportunities. It taught me incredible amounts of self-discipline that I never had when I was at school. It also gave me a lot of independence which I love more than anything and to know that you are the one deciding what and when you want to study gives you that control that makes you feel more at ease."
IGCSE™ success!
"This summer I received my IGCSE™ results after two years of schooling with Wolsey Hall and to say I’m pleased is an understatement. I actually got my results back in the middle of an airport in Istanbul, Turkey and everyone must have thought I was crazy just from the scene I created ahaha! The two grades that I was most proud of was my 9 in English language and my 8 in Psychology. English was one of my favourite subjects over the past two years as the assignments that Wolsey Hall provided really improved my writing. I would always look forward to the next English assignment as they were always really interesting and I had a lot of fun doing them.
Psychology was also a favourite of mine and I will continue to take it as one of my A levels with Wolsey Hall. I found that most of the content I was learning in the topics were aspects that I could apply to real life. I also found that I could actually use what I learnt in the sports psychology topics in my training on the ice. The amount of support I received from the Tutors throughout the whole two years leading up to the exams was incredible. It’s normal to think that you are doing it all on your own but each one of my Tutors, plus my student progress manager, helped me through every step and were always there when I needed guidance so I am personally grateful for all of their support. Overall, my experience with Wolsey has been amazing and I honestly can’t wait to start this new chapter of my life by continuing through to my A levels. Thanks for taking the time to read about my experience! I hope I’ve given a quick insight into the world of a Wolsey Hall student."
