For the second year running, the same group of young people from Hethersett Academy have supported Panathlon at the Norwich School Sports Partnership Discovery Swim Festival.
Nick Austin, the school’s head of PE, explains that the students need to lead an event for five hours as part of their qualification – but the group are going above and beyond now.
“The students that choose to study sports leadership at Hethersett are very passionate about teaching young people and really engage in showcasing this at events,” says Mr Austin. “The Panathlon events give them opportunity to develop their skills and have an impact on others being active and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.”
And the swim festival is a special occasion, he adds.
“The swimming one is our favourite as it takes place in an environment that is different to what we can offer at school, and in terms of what most of our students do as their main interests on land.”
For any other schools with young people who want to develop their leadership skills, Mr Austin says Panathlon provides the perfect opportunity: “We would definitely recommend other schools get involved in the events as it provides an enriching opportunity that cannot be found elsewhere in school.”
