London School Kicks Off National Sport Week

London 2012 gold medallists Katherine Grainger and Richard Whitehead joined schoolchildren at Southfields Academy in London on Monday, to celebrate the start of this year’s Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week – Britain’s biggest school sport event.

Last week it was revealed that nearly three million young people from schools across England and Wales had signed-up to take part in the initiative, delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, which takes place this week. 

Almost one year after London 2012, the event saw more than 200 pupils from Southfields Academy joined by Katherine Grainger and Richard Whitehead to stage an Olympic-style opening ceremony, before participating in sports activities – including rowing, water polo, trampolining, fitness, handball and softball. 

Pupils, teachers and school colleagues also participated in a boccia school sport challenge demonstrating the importance for all age groups to get involved in sport and continue the celebrations from last summer. 

Speaking at Southfields Academy, Lloyds TSB ambassador, Katherine Grainger, said: ‘It has been fantastic to visit Southfields today and see the legacy of London 2012 for myself. These pupils have been truly inspired by the Games and National School Sport Week and are eager to continue the celebrations and try out new sports.’

‘By helping pupils discover more sport and providing the opportunities both in and out of school to have a go and stay active, Lloyds TSB is helping a new generation to become active and potentially be the future stars of Team GB and ParalympicsGB.’

2013 is the fifth year of Lloyds TSB’s partnership of the week, which is one of a number of initiatives organised by the Youth Sport Trust to offer young people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to experience a wide range of sports and activities. 

This year Lloyds TSB is also supporting Join In, an initiative encouraging local sports clubs and community groups to open their doors to visitors and volunteers.

Bernard Mensah, Head of PE at Southfields Academy added: ‘We’ve been participating in National School Sport Week for five years and this year’s event was a huge success for our school and enjoyed by teachers and students alike.’  

‘As well as the impact the week has had on encouraging pupils to try new sports, including Paralympic sports such as Boccia, which we used for our school sport challenge event, we’ve also witnessed first-hand the knock-on effect it’s had on behaviour and learning. Our students have been thrilled to meet Katherine and Richard today and they will be really inspired to continue playing sport for some time.’