Posted on Saturday 16th Apr 2016
Olympic golden girl Lizzy Yarnold inspired a generation when she returned to her secondary school to open its new sports hall.
The British skeleton racer gave a short talk to pupils, governors and teachers at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls as she cut the ribbon of the £1m hall on Monday.
Lizzy, who won gold in the skeleton event at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, was a pupil at the school in Buckland Road between 1999 and 2007.
She said: “I’m so pleased that pupils will get to enjoy this amazing new sports hall, but I really will miss the old one.
“I loved growing into the person I am at this school – the cold changing rooms with the creaky doors, the smell of damp and the dusty walls are all memories of my time here.
“This is going to give generations of pupils the chance to perform and do better than ever before.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
11/04/25Leave school phone bans to head teachers, children's commissioner says
Banning phones in schools should be a decision for head teachers and not "imposed nationally by the government", England's children's commissioner has said.
24/03/25Ex-Ofsted boss says education secretary wants 'to please unions'
The former head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has criticised the education secretary and accused her of giving "a great deal of time and attention" to the teaching unions. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman claims "effective reforms are being reversed" - referring to potential changes to academy schools' powers.
20/03/25Childcare costs fall for the first time in 15 years – but nurseries are worried
Annual nursery costs for a child under two in England have fallen for the first time in 15 years, according to the children's charity Coram. It comes as the government continues to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children, not only three and four-year-olds as currently, with 30 hours of childcare per week from September. However, some nurseries and childminders say they may have to drop out of the scheme as government funding struggles to meet rising costs, including National Insurance increases from April.
17/03/25Poorest children missing more school and further behind after Covid
The poorest children are missing more school and falling further behind classmates, research shared with the BBC suggests. According to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) - which looked at pupil performance after the Covid-19 pandemic - children from the lowest income families are now up to 19 months behind peers by the time they are 16 years old.
13/03/25The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England
The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England by the end of its term, a new report has suggested. Analysis by the National Foundation of Educational Research (NFER) says unfilled vacancies are at a record high and recruitment into teacher training remains "persistently low." All but five secondary subjects missed this year's recruitment targets for new trainee teachers, which are set by the Department for Education (DfE).
News Archive