Olympic stars provide a golden experience

MIXING with the stars . . . Failsworth School pupils meet Darren Campbell and Jessica Ennis-Hill

Failsworth School pupils spent the day with Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill as part of a national project to build youngsters’ confidence.

The athlete hosted a day organised by the Sky Sports Living for Sport project which works with UK schools and the Youth Sport Trust charity.

Pupils met Jessica at the English Institute of Sport in her home city of Sheffield after winning one of 15 golden tickets for schools. They were picked from thousands of entries.

The Failsworth youngsters joined over 300 other pupils from across the country to take part in nine sporting activities, each led by a world-class star mentor.

Alongside Jessica, more than 20 world-class athletes shared their stories of sport’s influence on their lives They included Olympic sprint legend Darren Campbell MBE, Olympic hockey star Alex Danson and Olympic 100m and 400m finalist Jeanette Kwakye.

Jessica said: “Winning my Olympic gold medal was one of the highlights of my career, but seeing all these young people in action, gaining a bit more confidence and self-belief through sport, is something that you can’t really put a medal on. It’s just an incredible feeling.”

Lauren Kelly, a Failsworth School PE teacher, said: “Our pupils were blown away by the experience of joining Jessica and so many sporting legends.”