Today's Stars Meet the Stars of Tomorrow

In September, Northgate High School was very fortunate to receive two prestigious visitors which gave some of the school’s budding swimmers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the best.

David Carry and Keri-Anne Payne were visiting the school ahead of the Great East Swim on 25 September 2009 at Alton Water. David has won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and Keri-Anne’s recent triumphs include a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics and a gold medal in the 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome.

The guests had breakfast with a group of pupils and students who are all club and national swimmers. They have been working closely with Mr Baalham on the specific skills needed to aid their swimming. The students listened closely as David and Keri-Anne spoke about their training and motivation, and the golden duo also gave detailed tips on how to succeed which will prove to be invaluable advice. The message they put across was to take a positive attitude to everything you do and that if you find something that you enjoy, and you are good at it, then go for it!

Mr Smith, Head of PE at Northgate, was also impressed and said, ‘This was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils and students. They train so hard for their events that to listen to and learn from the best will motivate them and assist them in achieving their goals. We were very fortunate to have them here.’