Paralympian teaches PE at Le Murier School

Friday 26 January 2018

Richard Whitehead, a British Athlete, MBE, world record holder for athletes with double amputation and double Olympic gold medal holder in 200m has visited Le Murier School.

He was in Guernsey as a special guest for the Channel Islands Sports Awards, and he offered to teach a PE lesson at the special needs school while he was here.

Mr Whitehead ran through a number of activities with the children, teaching them how to control their bodies and warm up effectively, before playing several games. The lesson lasted an hour, and afterwards, the class told Express they had really enjoyed the experience.

"It really was so cool to have someone like that," Joe Bacon, 13, said. "It was sort of like singing with Elvis Presley, hanging out with a celebrity like that is not something you do everyday, and he wasn't acting like a celebrity who needed worshiping kind of, he was just a really nice guy."

Dylan Harris, 14, added that having Mr Whitehead as a PE teacher made the lesson really interesting, and he had enjoyed the end of the lesson where they all relaxed and did a special breathing exercise.

Pictured: Mr Whitehead's gold Olympic medal 

Last night, Mr Whitehead also gave a talk at the Channel Islands' Sports Awards, and he said it had been a good experience to give the lesson to the Le Murier children.

"When I put these lesson plans together I just focus on being as inclusive as possible, people should feel like they can't participate, so it is important to get everyone involved so they can experience it all together," he said.

"I think the most important thing about doing it is that everyone leaves here with a smile and feeling happy. I always enjoy meeting new people and obviously it is nice to be able to encourage and possibly inspire them to do the best they can."