Athletics star inspires at The Vale

Young athletes at The Vale Primary School enjoyed an inspirational visit from English Long Jumper and Heptathlete Holly Mills on 12 March.

As part of the Sporting Challenges Programme, Miss Mills spent an action-packed morning with the children at the Epsom-based school, which is part of the GLF Schools Multi-Academy Trust.

“She led an assembly introducing herself and the sports that she participates in, and talked about the competitions she had won, her losses, and how she overcame them,” explained Sarah Leyland, who is co-headteacher at The Vale.

“She discussed how she became an athlete, and her diet. She answered lots of questions about how long she trained for, what was her favourite sport, how she dealt with injuries, and what she was looking forward to this year in her competitions.”

The athletics champion also put the children through their sporting paces.

“As well as an assembly, she led each year group from Nursery to Year 6 in a circuit training course,” continued Mrs Leyland. “The children really enjoyed doing the exercises with her. She was very enthusiastic and positive, and listened to the children talking about their own achievements.”

Children and staff at the school also had the opportunity to have their photos taken with the star.

“It was a fantastic experience, as she talked about being a child, and the inspiration she got from sporting events in her school,” added Mrs Leyland.