Staveley school pupils meet Olympic star in journey to become sports ambassadors

The Bronze Young Ambassadors from Staveley Junior School travelled to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on Tuesday, May 3, for the all-day conference which is designed to prepare them to become Young Sports Leaders.

The children – who are all in Years 4, 5, and 6 – have taken their first step into sports leadership by forming a Sport Organising Crew which meets on a weekly basis.

Having completed their training, the pupils will now return to Staveley Juniors and help implement their new ideas to maximise engagement and inspire the whole school to get involved in sport.

Darren Lynch, PE Coordinator at Staveley Junior School, said: "The Young Ambassadors have shown great enthusiasm and maturity to take on these roles in school. I have been delighted to see how engaged and motivated they are to develop the sporting opportunities for all the children at school. We look forward to a great summer of sport."

Each child showed an interest in becoming a Bronze Young Ambassador by first filing in an application to be a mini leader and lead breaktime activities at school.

Mr Lynch said the best were then selected for the ambassador programme, which seeks to develop young leaders and volunteers by giving them the responsibility of being an ambassador for PE and school sport.

Their day at the English Institute of Sport featured an inspiring speech by former Olympic bobsledder Nicola Minichiello, who in 2009 became the first female British bobsleigh driver to win a world championship.

She spoke to the pupils about her own experiences competing in international sport and what inspired her to achieve success.

According to the Shape Learning Partnership, the Bronze Young Ambassador programme provides children with leadership training in four specific roles; Health, Sport, Active Travel and Media.

The sporty youngsters at Staveley Juniors will now have their progress tracked and supported by their school sport partnership.

Many Bronze Young Ambassadors perform exceptionally and embrace sports leadership, continuing onto the Silver, Gold and Platinum stages.

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