British Olympic swimmer, Amy Smith, opens new building at Highfields Independent School on London Road, Newark
A school’s new building was officially opened this week by a British Olympian who inspired the pupils.
Amy Smith, an Olympic swimmer, visited the Highfields Independent School on London Road, Newark and spent the day doing sporting activities with students from all year groups.
While she was there she cut the ribbon on the school’s newly built educational building, which will be used as an outdoor learning space overlooking the school field with the aim of supporting student wellbeing.
The swimmer had a successful career, competing at the London 2012 Olympics and won bronze, silver and gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, and used her visit to Highfields to speak with pupils and inspire them with the message of not giving up.
Amy Smith, said: “I came here today with the Sports for School programme which is about getting children excited about being active.
“They do exercises to music, cheer each other on and it gets them into the idea of pushing themselves so they then feel good afterwards as well.
“We held an assembly where I spoke a little bit about my career from being young — at their age now — all the way to being at the Olympic games, all the ups and downs, the set backs and what to expect in life not just in sport.
“They’ve all been brilliant, they’re a really lovely and friendly bunch of kids and seeing this new building and all the amazing things they’re going to do with this extra space is quite exciting.”
Friends and family of the school helped raise the funds to pay for the new building with a special event where unique prizes were auctioned off.
The building was officially unveiled to students and parents by Amy alongside the school’s youngest pupil, Oliver Turner and the oldest pupil, Tare Emeledor.
School head, Sarah Lyons, said: “This isn’t just a wooden structure, it’s a symbol of our commitment to providing the very best education.
“I want to thank all of our families who have enabled this to become possible, your support, trust and dedication has been the driving force behind our school’s success.
“This new building is testament to the strong partnership between our school and our families, which represents a nurturing and active environment where our children can flourish and reach their potential.”