Kelly Holmes praises school children graduating from Olympic Park Construction Crew
Kelly Holmes meets Construction Crew 2010!
21 Jul 2010
Double Olympic Gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes praised the commitment and leadership of the 40 members of the Olympic Park Construction Crew at their graduation this week. They were joined at the event by 20 previous graduates and 40 children from primary schools in the Olympic Park host boroughs who will form the next Construction Crew in September and mark the point that 100 local children have been involved in the project since 2008.
Being part of Construction Crew offers pupils the opportunity to see progress being made at the Olympic Park construction site first-hand, and take part in workshops to promote leadership, responsibility and presentation skills. Through these visits and workshops they are encouraged to take their new skills and knowledge back to their schools and present this information to their peers through school newsletters, webpages, displays, workshops and community events.
Alongside regular visits to the Olympic Park construction site and meetings with the project teams, members of the Construction Crew have helped start wetland planting and discussed the project with the Queen, the President of South Africa, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
The Construction Crew come from schools across the Host Boroughs – Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich – who are individually nominated to become members.
ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: “Being part of the Construction Crew is an incredible opportunity for young people living directly around the Olympic Park to see first hand the scale and pace of transformation that is taking place and help their personal development. It is fantastic to see young people taking close interest in their community, the Games and developing their leadership skills. With the insight offered into the career opportunities in construction and regeneration the Construction Crew could become the next generation of engineers, architects and surveyors.”
Dame Kelly Holmes said: “Construction Crew is another example of how London 2012 can motivate and inspire young people to get involved and develop their potential. It’s really impressive to see how the Construction Crew have challenged and pushed themselves and learned vital new skills.”
Check out the Supporter2Reporter coverage of the celebration
