My day at the London 2012 Olympics

After years of anticipation I made it to the London 2012 Olympics on Friday. The weather was fantastic and we enjoyed a lovely day exploring the Olympic park in the sunshine. It's hard to believe that the park was industrial wasteland up until a few years ago. The transformation is huge and it's now a wonderful green space, full of beautiful trees, plants and flowers.

We followed a path along the river and came across the Gloriana moored on the river, a royal barge privately commissioned as a tribute to the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee, and the lead vessel in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.  The site was buzzing with people and every now and again we could hear huge roars coming from the crowds inside the stadium and the other venues.

 In the evening we watched the Men's Diving 10m Platform preliminaries held in the Aquatics Centre. The atmosphere was wonderful and there were extra loud cheers for Team GB divers Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield. The duo had narrowly missed out on a medal the previous week, coming fourth in the synchronised 10m Platform competition. However things went better for Tom Daley this time and he went on to win a bronze medal in the final the following day. 

There have been so many magical moments in the last couple of weeks. My personal favourites were the Opening Ceremony that exceeded every ones expectations, Jessica Ennis winning the heptathlon, Mo Farah's 10,000m and 5,000m triumphs and of course Tom Daley taking bronze. Sadly it's over all too soon but I'll remember the London 2012 Olympics for the rest of my life, and we still have the Paralympics to come!

West of England Celebration of Sport evening

Me with Bath Spa University students Vicki, Grianne, Pete, Natasha and Jade.

Us on stage with the other nominees and Kriss Akabusi.

Last night I attended the first West of England Celebration of Sport Awards in Bristol with five students from Bath Spa University. The event was organised by the West of England Sport Trust and we were nominated for a 'Contribution to legacy' award for the resource pack we've developed for primary schools about the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The evening was compered by Kriss Akabusi MBE who was fantastic, bringing energy, enthusiasm, pride and passion to the awards. We heard from lots of inspiring people who've made a huge contribution to sport in their communities, as well as some local Olympic torchbearers and volunteers who will help to make the London 2012 Games happen. We didn't win the award in the end but we didn't mind at all because we had such a fantastic evening and it was great to be a part of it. Now I just need to find a good spot to display our certificate at the University.

Olympic inspired resource for primary schools launched

Last week we launched ‘Our Games, Our Values’ which is a free resource for primary schools in South West England, inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Values.

I've worked with five Bath Spa Uiversity History students to develop the resource over the last 18 months. It contains ten activities that celebrate local, ‘South West’ links with the Games. It creates opportunities for children to learn about elite athletes who train here, local artists who have been inspired by the Games and important local people, such as Hodgson Pratt, who have played key roles in the modern Olympic Games.

It's been quite a complicated project. The students did a lot of research before they came up with the activities, which we decided should be practical, creative and adaptable. They sought advice from education professionals and piloted the activities in four local primary schools. We worked with a designer to produce the pack. The students also created PowerPoint presentations to accompany the activities which involved sourcing images and content and obtaining the appropriate permissions.

The launch event was hosted by the Vice-Chancellor at Bath Spa University and Rt. Hon. Don Foster MP, who both made lovely speeches about the project.

I've enjoyed working with the same group of students for 18 months. They had just begun their 2nd year when I met them and they're now very close to graduating. I've got to know them individually and it's been lovely to see them grow in confidence. Taking part has inspired several of them to become teachers once they graduate which is a fantastic legacy.

The resource is available online on the RELAYS website.