By Martin Walker
As the Olympic Games start, all eyes will be on two former Newton Aycliffe students who are set to take part.
Ex-Woodham pupils Jason Steele and Angela Whinstanley-Smith are due to represent Team GB in this summer’s London Games, with the Opening Ceremony tomorrow.
Steele, the Middlesbrough goalkeeper, is in Stuart Pearce’s Team GB team, as is water polo player Whinstanley-Smith.
And Woodham head teacher Christine Forsyth (pictured) says the school’s sports department is leaving a “real legacy”.
“It’s always wonderful when you see former students succeeding,” said Mrs Forsyth, in a Video Interview with Aycliffe Today.
“Whatever they’ve chosen to do, it’s brilliant to see that they’ve actually fulfilled their dreams, and to have two former students in the Olympics is magical.
“It was good enough to have two torch-bearers from the school, but having two people in Team GB is absolutely fantastic.
“Added to that we also have someone who won a European Cup medal with Chelsea this year (Ross Turnbull), so you can see that school sport has a real legacy.”
Woodham launched its new Sports Academy earlier this month.
Mrs Forsyth added: “What our Sports Academy is about is finding out what a child is good at.
“Every child is good at something and you’ve just got to find that one thing they’re good at, give them a taste of success and once they’ve tasted success they’ll want to be good at everything else they do.
“For some people football is there thing, for others it might not be, so we give them opportunities to try new things, such as American Football, Softball… something different, so they can find something where they can enjoy themselves and succeed.
“I also think that if a student does well in sport, plays competitive sport, trains regularly, and has a discipline of training in a sport, that transfers into their day-to-day education.
“A student who has the discipline to turn up to training two or three times a week also has a discipline to do homework and to do well academically.”
Go to our Video Vault to see two parts of Mrs Forsyth’s interviews in full