Oasis Academy Coulsdon students with Paralympian athlete, Steve Brown during his recent visit.

As part of a Sky Sports initiative ‘Living for Sport’, students at Oasis Academy Coulsdon will get the opportunity to take part in a programme to develop sports leaders, and have been assigned Team GB Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Captain Steve Brown as their mentor for the project. Steve launched the project on Friday 28th November when he spent the afternoon with the students at the Academy, giving an inspirational talk drawing on his own experiences and enjoying a mini rugby session followed by lunch together.

GCSE PE students from Year 9 are taking part, with a focus on building confidence, leadership, communication skills and team work with young people who may not otherwise get this sort of opportunity. Students involved commented after their afternoon with Steve that they thought he was: “Really inspiring and a fantastic role model”. They also said they thought the project is: “A great opportunity to grow as individuals and we are really excited about the year ahead”.

By the end of the scheme the students will organise and host a primary school sports day with up to ten local primary schools.

Andy Brown, Oasis Academy Principal, said: “This is a fantastic project and will benefit not only the students taking part, but also the local community. I am extremely proud that our students will be taking part in this initiative and share their enthusiasm for developing this programme with the mentoring of one of the country’s top athletes”.