The chairman of the 2012 London Olympic Games, Lord Coe, will be in Grantham on July 1 to attend a massive gathering of students for their annual sports day.
Lord Coe, an Olympic Gold medallist, will be at the Summer Cup, an event organised by the David Ross Education Trust which recently took on Charles Read Academy and saved it from closure. Students from the Corby Glen Academy will compete against other secondary schools within the Trust at The Meres leisure centre. More than 800 pupils are expected to take part.
The event will feature an Opening Ceremony, authentic Olympic torches from London 1948 and 2012. A number of professional athletes are also expected to be there.
Competitions will be held in a variety of sports including table tennis, hockey, rugby, athletics and swimming.
Charles Read principal Ali Story said: “The Summer Cup is a fantastic way for our students to get involved in Trust activities and fell part of a wider network. There is definitely a real air of excitement about competing in front of Lord Coe and students are feeling confident they they can achieve some great results.
“It’s important to us that we get students involved in sport and help them to see what they can achieve. The Summer Cup is a great way to inspire them to be active and aim for the top.”
Meanwhile, Wendy Marshall, Chief Executive of the David Ross Eduction Trust, said that they would welcome back any students who had left Charles Read since it was proposed to close the school. About 70 pupils have left. Ms Marshall said she was confident that numbers would increase at the school because demand in the area was there.