Pupils smash 5,000-mile target for East Midlands Academy Trust torch relay

Pupils were joined by Olympic athletes for an incredible week-long torch relay as part of the East Midlands Academy Trust Olympic Day programme of events.

The EMAT torch moved from school to school last week as the pupils were joined by sporting heroes to run or walk a mile, together clocking up a total of 5,000 miles – a mile per pupil across the East Midlands Academy Trust.

Its schools include Prince William School in Oundle.

British judo athlete and double world medallist Nekoda Davis joined pupils at Prince William School last Wednesday.

During her visit, she met with the school's Year 12 sports leaders to answer their questions and gave a talk about her career to the whole Year 8 group.

Other Olympians who visited schools as part of the EMAT torch relay included GB hockey player and double Olympic medallist Shona McCallin MBE, Olympic rower Caragh McMurtry and British Paralympian and gold medallist Laura Sugar.

East Midlands Academy Trust chief executive Joshua Coleman said: “Our Olympic Day events are a unique opportunity for our pupils across our family of schools to compete in a range of sporting activities and learn more about the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

“With the support of GB Olympians, our pupils learn about aiming high and working hard to achieve your goals through sport.

"It’s an amazing opportunity for them and they’ve loved meeting the athletes and hearing about their journeys to success.”

This week, the Olympic Day programme continues with the Ability Games, a fun sporting competition for pupils with additional needs, namely communication and interaction difficulties.

This event is fully inclusive, enabling pupils to take part in appropriate sporting activities as part of the Olympic Day programme.

The culmination of the series of events is the Trust’s Olympic Day, taking place at this year at Corby Athletics Stadium on Wednesday, June 21 and offering pupils the chance to compete at a full-sized athletics track and field.

There will be a live broadcast from the stadium for parents and classmates, hosted by Sky Sports presenter Jamie Weir.