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 Thursday 20th October 2011

Today, we celebrated officially being welcomed to the London 2012's Get Set network, in recognition of our commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Values. In fact, we are one of the first schools in the area to receive this accreditation and we are very proud to have been awarded our plaque and certificate by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

To mark the occasion, the whole school gathered, along with the Mayor of Haslemere, Mr Jim Edwards, to watch the unveiling of the plaque. Our very own GB athlete, Chris Scott unveiled the plaque and gave a short speech to the children about what an amazing privilige it is to be able to be involved with the Olympic Games. It was wonderful to see the children so excited, and the volume was deafening as they joined in with a rousing 'three cheers' for the Olympics. In the lead up to Thursday's event, the school had held an assembly about the Olympics and Paralympics, where the children had learned about the mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, and what they represent. They had then coloured in their own mascots which they brought to the unveiling on Thursday.

The ceremony was made even more special as we were kindly lent, by Maggie Gartland, an original Olympic torch from the 1948 Games. In fact, 1948 was the year the Games were last held in London and also the very first time that a Paralympic event was held alongside the Olympics. This was for the servicemen injured during the Second World War and took the form of a sports day held at Stoke Mandeville Hospital - hence the name of the Paralympic mascot! It was a great honour for the Barrow Hills' Games Captains, Sophie and William to be able to hold this torch aloft and for all the pupils to see this piece of Olympic history.  To round off the day the children were each given a special London 2012 pencil to keep.

Our thanks go to John Gartland, for successfully completing our application to the Get Set network and also to Andre  Hodgson-King for his work with our ongoing link with Linden Lodge School for the Blind and St Benedict School. Our Lent Appeal next year will take the form of our own Paralympics, alongside Linden Lodge, and will be in February, exactly six months before the opening of the London Paralympics. Already the children are practising and taking part in events such as Goalball, Boccia and Blind Football during Skills for Life lessons. The aim is to raise awareness of the special talents these gifted athletes have, and the struggles they must face to compete at such a high level within their disciplines.