Olympian inspires children at Blue Bell Hill Primary School

Children’s sponsorship raises a whopping £3478.77 for PE and playground equipment

Olympic swimmer Joe Roebuck joined children at Blue Bell Hill Primary School for an inspirational talk and activity workshops.

Part of the special visit saw children raising money through sponsorship and in total they raised a whopping £ 3,478.77!  The money raised will now fund PE and playground equipment for the school based on Gordon Road, Nottingham.

Joe described the reason for his visit, saying, “I am here today with a company called Great Athletes and we deliver what I think is a fantastic programme to support children to be active and adopt a healthy lifestyle. We don’t approach it as sports event as such, as some children might find that intimidating, -but we do all have fun getting active together. No one is singled out, no one can go wrong, and all ages and abilities can join in with the fun. We often get feedback from teachers who say children who don’t like taking part in PE have really enjoyed our sessions.”

Joe spoke to children about his own journey amassing a total of 21 National medals as well as being a 10-time British Champion from 2005 to 2014. Joe still holds the British Record for Short Course 200 Butterfly (1.51.27) and is also the 400 Individual Medley short course Commonwealth Record holder (4.01.63).

In 2012 Joe became the only British swimmer to qualify for three individual events for the London Olympics after winning two events at the Olympic Trials.

Joe said, “I hope my own story inspires the children too and that with hard work anyone can achieve. That’s not just in sports either, but whatever children want to do in life. Resilience and perseverance in whatever they are passionate about is what we want to encourage, – much like the school’s own vision for the children.”

Pupil Alicia is in Year 6 and said, “It’s been new for me and crazy meeting Joe! I have never done anything like this before and I also really like swimming too. I think to be like Joe you have to keep working hard until you achieve what you want.”

Fellow year 6 pupil Gerald wants to be an entrepreneur when he’s older and he said, “I have never seen an Olympic athlete before, and it is very inspiring. I think to be like Joe must take a lot of training and hard work, you have to be committed to it and train every day. You can’t just give up because you find something hard, you have to try and try again. Because Joe didn’t get to the Olympics straight away, he got there after lots and lots of hard work.”

Head Teacher at Blue Bell Hill Primary School, Mrs Rebecca Martin said, “We are so privileged to have been joined in school by Joe Roebuck and the team from Great Athletes. He inspired our children to ‘Aim High’ and be just like our Learning Captains if they want to go on and achieve their dreams. He reminded them that they are all unique and have their own talents and with hard work they can achieve exceptional things.

“The children all got to be active by taking part in a sponsored fitness circuit – raising £3,478.77 for school sports equipment, helping to make sport in school sustainable in the future. A huge well done to all the children and the amazing Blue Bell Hill community that supported them, -and a massive thank you to Great Athletes.”

Photograph: Aiming high! Joe Roebuck with Blue Bell Hill Primary School children. (Photo: Lou Brimble)