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Pupils across East Midlands Academy Trust schools, supported by GB Olympians, have been joined by a host of Olympic athletes as part of the annual EMAT torch relay.
Throughout this week, the EMAT torch has travelled between all seven schools in the trust where every child has taken part in a walk or run as part of the build up to the EMAT Olympic Day later this month.
Learners at Northampton International Academy were joined for day one of the torch relay by Paralympic wheelchair basketball player Sophie Carrigill, who also spent some time with BTEC sports students and the school’s This Girl Can committee, which aims to raise sporting aspirations among girls.
At Castle Academy and Stimpson Avenue Academy, triple Paralympic gold medal winner and twelve-time World Champion canoeist Emma Wiggs MBE cheered on the young runners and spent some time with Stimpson Avenue Academy’s junior leadership team for day two.
Day three saw Heather Fell, an Olympic Silver Medallist in Modern Pentathlon, joining the children at Orchard Academy and Shepherdswell Academy, followed by Olympic rower Caragh McMurtry who was at Prince William School on day four to meet Year 12 sports leaders and talk to Year 7 students about resilience.
The final leg of the EMAT torch relay was at Hardingstone Academy where pupils were again joined by Caragh, who met the school council and cheered on children from nursery to Year 6 as they completed laps of the school field.
Chief executive Joshua Coleman said: “Our EMAT Torch Relay is a truly inclusive event as it involves every one of our pupils across the trust and features some fantastic Olympians and Paralympians who are sharing their own stories of resilience and hard work with our learners.
“We are now in our fifth year of this incredible event and we are fortunate to have a unique partnership with GB Olympians to bring sporting heroes into our schools to inspire our pupils – and perhaps the next generation of Olympians!”
Next week the trust will host its annual Ability Games, a special event for our pupils with additional physical or communication needs, supported by Paralympic archer Tania Nadaraja.