Author - Natalie Temple-Hill

Wednesday 15th November saw Great Athletes visit Milwards Primary School for an inspiring event with Commonwealth Games Gold medal-winning gymnast, Steve Frew, who brought energy, enthusiasm, and a wealth of experience to the pupils at Milwards. Fortune and Coates, a local estate agency based in Harlow, proudly sponsored the visit.

The day kicked off with a fun-filled fitness circuit, engaging students from Reception all the way to Year 6. The atmosphere in the school hall was electric as each class took turns tackling the exercises alongside their visiting gymnast, including spotty dogs, mountain climbers, push ups, and star jumps.

The camaraderie among the pupils beaming, each class cheered on the next, clapping and counting down the final seconds to push their peers to give it their all.

The circuit stations were replaced by gym mats, the event transitioning into an awe-inspiring assembly. Steve captivated the entire room, as he shared his sporting story from being a nervous 7-year-old competing in his first gymnastics event to becoming a Commonwealth Games Gold medallist. The pupils’ excitement soared through the assembly hall when Steve showed them a picture of himself as a child proudly holding his first medal, then showed the very same medal to the room.

This memorable event was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Fortune & Coates, The People’s Estate Agency, based in Harlow. The moment Great Athletes made contact with the agency, they enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity to support this event and contribute to the local community.

Beyond their sponsorship, Fortune & Coates made a £100 donation to Milwards Primary School to purchase new sports equipment, in line with Great Athletes’ mission to inspire every child to lead a more active, resilient, and healthy life.

In addition to their financial support, Great Athletes provided and displayed a banner at the school’s main entrance, showcasing Fortune & Coates’ commitment to the community. The school was thrilled not only by the sponsorship but also by the additional gesture of a £500 discount offered by Fortune & Coates to the parents of Milwards Primary School selling their homes.

The day was a resounding success, filled with fitness, inspiration, and community spirit. Milwards Primary School extended a warm thank you to Fortune & Coates for their incredible generosity and to Steve Frew for providing an unforgettable experience that will surely motivate the students for years to come.

If you’d like to learn more about sponsoring a local primary school’s Great Athletes visit, call James on 01223 792205 or email [email protected].

In 2014/15, 100m Sprinter Rion Pierre attended a nursery school with Great Athletes, where he spoke to the children about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the art of practising to get better. He shared how the more he practised at running, the better he got. Rion then ran a fun fitness circuit with the pupils to show them how fun getting moving can be!

Today, the parent of a pupil who was inspired by Rion’s determination gets in touch with us to share how the Great Athletes visit has stuck with her son, Leo, and spurred him on to become a successful junior runner himself!

On the day of the visit, Leo put his all into the exercises that he practised alongside Rion and his other classmates, and Leo made sure to keep going, even when the exercises began to feel tough. Rion noticed Leo’s hard efforts and rewarded him with his first-ever medal. Leo, now in year 6, still hangs his medal in his room with pride after many years, along with many others that have been added to his collection!

“Leo, you concentrated, listened, and followed the instructions from Rion. You kept exercising even when it became hard work and even practised your running after Rion left! Well done – keep up the good work 😊”

Even from the tender age of 3, Leo has always had a passion for running, Leo’s mum says, with the visit from Rion spiralling this passion into many successful accolades.

Over the years, Leo has channelled his inner resilience and it has certainly paid off. He has won every sports day at his school and represented his school in many competitions with win after win. Finally, in 2022, Leo was able to compete in the under 11’s. His first year came with a big success, where he came 3^rd overall in a total of 5 cross country races in which he was a top 3 finisher in each. This league was the one in which Mo Farrah started!

“He then competed in the National Primary Schools Cross Country competition and came 17th! That’s 17th in the country!” Then, track season approached, and he again smashed each of his races. “He even broke the 600m long-standing record since 2015.”

Leo is now part of the same athletics club in which Rion is part of at Windsor Slough Eaton & Hounslow Athletics Club and is in his first year as an under-13. We all at Great Athletes wish Leo a massive good luck for his upcoming first race at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre for his athletics club open graded meeting, after which he goes on to compete in the Alder Valley Match in April.

“I just wanted to thank you and Rion for inspiring my son even at such a young age. I also thought it was such a coincidence that Rion and my son Leo are actually now in the same athletics club.”

If you’d like to find out more about how you can inspire your children too, call our team on 01223 792200, or visit our online booking page.