Rugby: Stars back at school to inspire youngsters

May 21 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

WORLD duathalon champion Catriona Morrison, Scottish rugby internationalist Chris Paterson and paralympian wheelchair tennis player Kevin Simpson visited Linlithgow Bridge Primary School recently.

The stars, three of Scotland’s top athletes, were guest speakers at the county school on Wednesday, May 7, for the culmination of the Champions in Schools initiative.

The programme, which has been hugely successful, is a partnership between West Lothian Council and the Winning Scotland Foundation and has been running for the past nine months.

It has brought pupils from across the county face to face with talented athletes in a series of school workshops designed to inspire and motivate them to participate in sport.

The programme also aims to promote sport to help make Scotland a healthier nation.

On the final night of the programme pupils from the host school, St John Ogilvie and Holy Family, delivered presentations on how the sports stars had inspired them before the evening was rounded off with a lively question-and -answer session from the three athletes in attendance.

It is hoped that the programme will be rolled out nationally while West Lothian will be able to benefit from the impact the Champions in Schools programme has had on pupils in the years to come.