Six city youngsters have been handed a once in a lifetime chance to be part of the build-up to this summer’s Olympic Games by volunteering at the national School Games.
Holden Lane Sports College from Sneyd Green were part of a success bid to become one of 14 schools nationwide to provide sports leaders to join the volunteering team who will manage the national School Games at the Olympic Park in Stratford, London.
To qualify as a representative the school had to demonstrate the reasons why they wanted to be involved, the volunteering experience of the group across different levels of school and community sport, the level of commitment made by the young people to volunteer in sport and the values which underpin their volunteering, and the training and development opportunities which the young volunteers have already undertaken.
Three of the pupils are currently at Holden Lane Sport College, while the other three, already named, are former pupils now attending Stoke Sixth Form College: Jordan Leach, Holly Teece and Abigail Potts.
The remaining three will be made up from top leader year 10 students at Holden Lane Sports College.
The six will travel and stay in London for training where they will work at various London Olympic sites before taking on their roles as volunteers at the main stadium for the National School Games on Wednesday May 9, 2012.
Councillor Debra Gratton, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “It is a chance in a lifetime for our young leaders to volunteer at the national School Games and to bring alive the Olympics build up in Stoke-on-Trent before the Torch Relay arrives in the Potteries later in May. It’s a real honour for one of our schools to be picked as a representative of the city at the Olympic venues.”
Volunteering will initially be at the ExCeL Arena, Old Loughtonians Hockey Club and Barking Rugby Club. The pupils will then help manage the School Games which features 12 sports. The sports are athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rugby sevens, swimming, table tennis, volleyball and wheelchair basketball.