Commonwealth and Paralympic champions help Coventry students get ready for Birmingham games
A pair of Olympic and Paralympic champions joined children at a Coventry school to test their teamwork skills ahead of the Commonwealth Games’ arrival in the region next month.
Paralympic swimming champion Liz Johnson and Commonwealth gold-winning gymnast Steve Frew joined 60 students from six Coventry schools at Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, part of the Romero Catholic Academy, for an afternoon of outdoor exercise and training to give students the skills to host their own sports festival as part of the Commonwealth Connections programme.
Commonwealth Connections is a joint project from the British Council and the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, running from the autumn 2021 until July 2022, twinning 60 schools in the West Midlands with counterparts from the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The Coventry cluster, which is partnered with Zambia, includes Corpus Christi, Earlsdon Primary School, Finham Park 2, Riverbank Academy, Moseley Primary School, and Coundon Court.
The initiative is supported by the Birmingham Education Partnership, Youth Sport Trust and Birmingham Arts School, in partnership with Bring The Power, Birmingham 2022's youth programme, and Birmingham 2022.
Liz Johnson, who won Paralympic gold in the 100m breaststroke in Beijing 2008, is an Athlete Mentor for Youth Sport Trust.
She said: “We’ve done a lot of work over the last term with these schools about sports leadership and planning events, and this is all with a view to the schools hosting their own sports festival.
“Today is about preparing and making sure each school and each participant knows their role and are confident and competent about what they’ll be delivering.
“They will be using traditional commonwealth activities, which leads us into the wider programme, where we’ve partnered schools in the West Midlands with countries around the commonwealth, with this cluster drawing inspiration from Zambian culture.
“Each school is bringing the activities they enjoy to this festival environment to hone the skills required to host an event, while integrating with other people beyond their usual circle.”
Steve Frew, who is also an Athlete Mentor for Youth Sport Trust, won Scotland’s first Commonwealth gold in gymnastics in the men’s rings in Manchester 2002.
He said: “The schools are coming together to create activities and develop leadership skills. It’s really important that these kids have this opportunity as it gets them outdoors, giving them new skills and new people to meet.
“This is the beauty of Commonwealth Games projects, bringing people together from across different cultures, mixing ideas and everybody benefitting.”
Harry Clark, PE Teacher at Corpus Christi, said: “Today has been all about bringing students from across the city and region together to learn from Olympic and Paralympic champions and engage in teambuilding exercises as part of the wider Commonwealth Connections programme.
“It’s been a privilege to have Steve and Liz here at Corpus Christi to support the day. They have brought so much enthusiasm to their activities, and it was great to see students of all ages and abilities getting involved and having fun.”
