A motivational speaker has been hailed as an “inspiration to all” after a two week tour around Suffolk schools.

Cameron Parker, whose talks touch upon issues such as mental health and anxiety, visited students across the county to show how people can go through a tough time at school and still succeed.

Organised by the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (neaco), an organisation seeking to help children from deprived backgrounds pursue higher education, the motivational talks proved a big hit.

One Ipswich Academy student said Mr Parker had been an “inspiration to all” and motivated them to pursue their dreams as a writer.

“You’re a very good speaker and I hope for the for you and your future,” the student wrote.

Mr Parker said: “My motivational sessions are designed to not only increase motivational levels but to maintain motivational levels. Creating a larger vision for the students; helping them think in ways they have never really thought before, and providing students with strategies to potentially set them up for higher education.”

A teacher at the Benjamin Britten school in Lowestoft said Mr Parker was “by far” the best motivational speaker they had heard at school and had been met with “really positive feedback” from students and parents.

A neaco spokesman said many students suffered from a lack of motivation, confidence and inspiration - and Mr Parker was an opportunity to hear from someone who had been through the same issues but succeeded through hard work and determination.

“We are running the road show as a way to help give young people from East Anglia who have little or no experience of study after school, the confidence to believe that this is something they are able to do,” the spokesman added.

“These students, in years 9-13, live in areas identified by the Government as having low rates of progression to higher education.”