A BROMSGROVE teenager handed the responsibility of keeping the spirit of London 2012 alive has been congratulated for his efforts.
Daniel Ellis, of South Bromsgrove High School, was one of the star attractions at Birmingham’s Paragon Hotel last week as more than a hundred legacy leaders took centre stage.
The event was held to celebrate the Get Set to Make a Change programme which offered youngsters the chance to organise and run community projects inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Values.
Ellis, who has fulfilled a number of pledges including encouraging younger people to play sports since October last year, collected an award on behalf of his school from gymnast Max Whitlock and double Paralympic table tennis medallist Will Bayley.
He said: “It was great to come to the celebration event as it’s allowed us to meet other legacy leaders from the county and to understand what they’ve done over the last 12 months and share ideas.
“We did another pledge about Paralympic lunch times. There are a few students with disabilities or impairments and they were able to come along to these lunch times we put on as legacy leaders and staff and give them a chance to do sports that maybe they wouldn’t be able to do elsewhere.”
Whitlock, who won pommel horse and team bronze at London 2012, said he was more than happy to take time out to celebrate Ellis and South Bromsgrove High School’s hard work.
“The motto from the Olympic Games was inspire a generation and these guys are doing a great job of that.” he added.
“As athletes, we try and motivate and inspire youngsters and they are doing that too. It’s been great to find out what they have been up to and they are all so enthusiastic which is great to see.”
Through GSTMC, the British Olympic Foundation, in conjunction with the British Paralympic Association is using the spirit of the London Games to re-inspire young people across the UK.
The project is being supported by a £2.5m grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive campaign.
