Lloydstsb Kicks Off School Sport Week

Olympic Gold Medallists, Sir Chris Hoy and Jonathan Edwards joined schoolchildren at Southfields Community College in London, to celebrate the start of this year’s Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week – Britain’s biggest school sport event.
 
More than four million young people from schools across Britain have signed-up to take part in National School Sport Week 2011, an initiative run in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, which takes place from 27th June to 1st July. 

The week uses the anticipation of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire pupils to do more sport and physical activity, with young people invited to pledge to set and achieve a personal best in an Olympic or Paralympic sport, individually, with their class or club, and at every level.
 
With just over a year to go until London 2012, the event saw more than 150 pupils from five London schools split into seven different teams, each representing one of the Olympic or Paralympic values – respect, excellence, friendship and courage, determination, inspiration and equality.  
 
They were joined by Chris Hoy and Jonathan Edwards as the children staged an Olympic-style opening ceremony, before attempting to achieve their personal best in a range of different Olympic and Paralympic sports – including table tennis, badminton, rowing, goalball, boccia, trampolining and sitting volleyball. 

The event concluded with the school’s young leaders staging their own closing ceremony to round off proceedings. 
 
Lloyds TSB ambassador, Sir Chris Hoy, said: ‘London 2012 will provide us with all sorts of opportunities for young people to try new sports and get involved in learning all about the special events that the Olympic and Paralympic Games really are’. 

‘National School Sport Week is a great way of introducing them to these sports and helps them to understand the important values that the Games can teach’.
 
Schools across Britain will be taking part in London 2012-themed activities throughout National School Sport Week 2011, hosting opening and closing ceremonies, torch relays, inter and intra school competitions and inviting local clubs to come in and give taster sessions in a variety of Olympic and Paralympic sports. 

It is part of the London 2012 Get Set+ education programme, where young people can find out more about the Games and explore the Olympic and Paralympic values as London 2012 approaches.
 
Sally Hancock, director of Lloyds Banking Group London 2012 Partnership, added: ‘National School Sport Week is one of the key activations of our London 2012 partnership and is central to our promise of taking the Games to communities all over the UK’.

‘With more than four million young people taking part, we are ensuring that children everywhere can experience the excitement of hosting the Games on home soil’.

Check out the video of the launch at Sport Industry TV.