Honour guard role for Devizes pupils at Games (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Honour guard role for Devizes pupils at Games
9:30am Friday 8th June 2012 in News By Lewis Cowen
Devizes School students celebrate being chosen to take part in the guard of honour at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games
Students from Devizes School were excited to hear they have been chosen to form part of the guard of honour welcoming the world’s athletes to the Olympic opening ceremony.
Eight youngsters from Years 7, 8 and 9 have been selected for the honour. They are Sophie Cutting, Jed Dark, Alice Eaves, Samuel Lowe, Thomas Marshall, Hannah Pickford, Rebecca Quinton and Elliott Wray.
They will be accompanied by members of staff Colin Herring and Lizzie Myers.
At the start of the athletes’ parade, during their procession from the Olympic village to the Olympic stadium, the eight students will join 249 other schools from across the UK and make up the 2,000 strong student guard of honour to line the route, holding lanterns and banners they have created to support one of the 204 competing teams.
They will be supporting the athletes from the Republic of South Korea.
The school signed up to be a Get Set school some years ago, joining in with the special education programme set up as part of the preparations for the Olympics.
Sue Marshall, assistant head teacher at Devizes School, explained: “When the Olympics were first granted to London we were given the opportunity, as a specialist sports college, of becoming an Olympic school and joining the Get Set Network.
“We incorporated the ideals of the Olympic movement into our school curriculum and will continue to do so well after 2012.”
The eight students were nominated by their heads of houses and they were allowed to go to Bristol to watch former pupil Joe Hutchinson carry the torch along Southmead Road.
Joe, 19, from Bowerhill, Melksham, won a sports scholarship to the University of North Carolina and flew over specially to take part in the Olympic torch relay on May 23. He had to return to America to complete his term but will be coming back to London in time for the Olympics.
After completing his 300 metres in the torch relay, he brought the torch back to Devizes School where some of the honour guard students were able to hold it.
