Bill Wiggin MP for North Herefordshire is to pay a school visit to meet award winning Earl Mortimer College student Alex Griffiths, this Friday 22 March.

The special MP visit to Earl Mortimer College has been arranged to recognise 15 year old Alex being named the Sky Sports Living for Sport Regional Winner for the West Midlands.

The Sky Sports Living for Sport Awards celebrate the successful way UK secondary schools are using Sky Sports Living for Sport, a free initiative delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, to inspire young people through sport.  The Awards offer UK schools which have delivered a Sky Sports Living for Sport project during the 2011/12 academic year the opportunity to shine a light on their pupils’ sporting journeys and share their stories of success.

Alex is one of 12 regional winners from across the UK, who attended the glittering Awards ceremony at London’s Sky Studios last week to receive his award from the initiative’s Ambassador’s Jessica Ennis and Darren Campbell.

Alex was one of a group of ten students selected to take part in the College’s Sky Sports Living for Sport project because they needed support in engaging with the school curriculum. The focus of the project was on developing social, physical and mental skills through the medium of sport by running a Year 6 Sport Induction Day.  Alex did a particularly brilliant job and his confidence in delivery was outstanding.  He was excellent at praising and encouraging the students under his leadership which made for a high work rate and enjoyment.

Paul Bescoby, PE teacher at Earl Mortimer College commented:  “Alex has certainly become more actively involved in college life as a result of the Sky Sports Living for Sport project.  He regularly helps out at after college events and has grown into a very well rounded individual.”

During the MP visit, Bill will meet Alex and Adrian Long, Principal of Earl Mortimer College, to discover more about Sky Sports Living for Sport.  Bill will hear how Alex’s life was transformed through the sporting initiative and learn more about the impact that it continues to have in schools across the country.

MP Bill Wiggin commented: “Sky Sports Living for Sport is a great initiative which uses sport and sporting heroes to help thousands of young people achieve their full potential.

“I am delighted that Earl Mortimer College has had such successes with the initiative and look forward to hearing more about its impact locally.

“Alex has done fantastically to be named as the West Midlands Regional Winner in a year defined by sporting feats.  I would like to offer him my warmest congratulations on this impressive, and inspirational, achievement.”

Showcasing how the initiative teaches students new life skills, students at Earl Mortimer College will also participate in a Sky Sports Living for Sport teambuilding workshop with national Athlete Mentor Mel Clark, during the MP visit.  An international archer on the Great British Paralympic Team, Mel secured a silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and supported Alex throughout his Sky Sports Living for Sport project.

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For further information please contact:

Karoline Peach or Jessica Beales

Midnight Communications Tel: 01273 666 200 Email: skysportslfs@midnight.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

For more information about Sky Sports Living for Sport, please visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport

Find us on twitter @SkySportsLFS

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SkySportsLivingForSport

About Sky Sports Living for Sport

Sky Sports Living for Sport, delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, uses sport stars and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people in secondary schools across the UK.

Since the initiative launched in 2003, 74,000 young people in over a third of schools across the UK have benefitted by using sport to improve their lives. Last year over 1,000 schools planned Sky Sports Living for Sport projects and there were 1,385 Athlete Mentor visits to schools. The key areas of focus for the initiative are: self-confidence and self-esteem, attitudes to learning, health and wellbeing, and encouraging students to reach their full potential.

Sky Sports Living for Sport has enjoyed remarkable success, with 96 per cent of projects deemed to have been ‘successful’ or ‘very successful’ according to teachers polled in an independent survey by Chrysalis Research during the 2011/12 academic year. The research also revealed that 96 per cent of Lead Teachers running Sky Sports Living for Sport projects reported that participating pupils showed improved self-confidence and self-esteem.

Sky Sports Living for Sport forms part of Sky's wider commitment to the community through The Bigger Picture. To find out more about Sky’s The Bigger Picture initiatives visit http://sky.com/thebiggerpicture

The Youth Sport Trust: Sport Changes Lives

Our charity is passionate about helping all young people to achieve their full potential by delivering high quality physical education and sport.

We work to:

• give every child a sporting start in life through high quality PE and sport in primary schools.
• ensure all young people have a sporting chance by developing opportunities for those with special educational needs and disabilities.
• support all young people to achieve their sporting best in school and their personal best in life.
  To find out more visit: www.youthsporttrust.org