EMAT Torch Relay sees Olympic stars visit 5,000 pupils
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 their torch relay 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.
Pupils at Hardingstone Academy were joined for the fourth and final leg of the EMAT Torch Relay by Olympic rower Caragh McMurtry, who met the school council and cheered on children from nursery to Year 6 as they completed laps of the school field.
Caragh and Olympic Silver Medallist in Modern Pentathlon Heather Fell visited the trust’s other schools in Oundle and Milton Keynes as part of the torch relay week.
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.
This will be followed by the EMAT Olympic Day on June 25th, which will bring together around 540 pupils from 11 schools in total for an athletics competition, with a special appearance from Olympic sprinter James Dasaolu, who competed at London 2012, and runner Anita Neil, the first female black athlete to represent Great Britain.