Birmingham's Blakesley Hall Primary School wins 'once in a lifetime' Team GB Olympic experience

Students and teachers from Blakesley Hall Primary School in Birmingham have won a unique opportunity to visit the Team GB Kitting Out experience at the NEC this Friday, 14 June.

This visit is part of the Path to Paris initiative by Team GB and ParalympicsGB, which aims to motivate children aged 5-11 to engage in physical activity and virtually travel around the globe, with the final destination being the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The lucky group of 10-year-olds, along with two teachers, will get a glimpse into the life of an Olympian.

They will tour the adidas and Ben Sherman showrooms, learn about the kitting process for Team GB athletes, and even receive their own Team GB kit.

Blakesley Hall Primary School earned this opportunity due to their impressive participation in the Path to Paris programme.

The school community clocked in over 278 instances of physical activity, amounting to a staggering 19,195 minutes. This effort propelled them well beyond their virtual destination of Paris.

The visit to the NEC is expected to inspire the young students and provide them with a taste of what it could be like to be a future Team GB star.

Jen Rouse, Managing Director of the British Olympic Foundation, said, “We’re incredibly proud of the Get Set programme: for over a decade now it has been helping young people to develop important life skills and maintain healthy, active lifestyles.

“With Paris 2024 just around the corner, we have a really important role to play in using the power of the Olympic Games to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation, and our aim for Path to Paris is that as many young people as possible are inspired to get moving thanks to the stories of our extraordinary athletes.”

Anna Scott-Marshall, Director of Communications & Social Impact at ParalympicsGB, also praised the Path to Paris initiative, saying, “Path to Paris is a great opportunity to reach and engage more young people and their families in physical activity.

“We know that participation levels among young disabled people are disproportionately low compared to non-disabled people and Path to Paris will provide teachers and parents with lots of inclusive and accessible resources and activities to encourage more young people to get active. Our aim is that this initiative will be the catalyst for many future Paralympic careers.”

The Path to Paris challenge continues to invite schools, communities, and families across the UK to get active in the lead up to the Paris 2024 Games and throughout the summer.

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