Westbury on Trym CE Academy were delighted to welcome former pupil, Izzy Thorpe, back to their school family after she won a silver medal in Artistic Swimming at the Paris Olympics in the summer with her duet partner, Kate.
Izzy joined the children in an assembly where she shared her story of how her dream began at the age of 10 while she was at the school and swimming for the school gala team. After watching the Olympic Games in 2012, she decided that’s what she wanted to do and in 2019 was successful in being selected for the GB team. She spoke about the importance of resilience and how there will always be setbacks along the way – but hard work and practice makes perfect!
The children listened in awe about how nervous she was competing in front of 5,000 people at the pool in Paris but was supported by her family including her Mum, who is her coach, by her side. Izzy explained what it was like in the Olympic village, with the children learning there were cardboard beds and delicious chocolate muffins in the canteen!
Izzy proudly showed the children her medal and told how every medal presented at the Olympic Games in Paris had a small part of the Eiffel Tower in the centre of it, making it unique and incredibly special.
The children were enthralled by Izzy being able to hold her breath for a colossal three minutes; she challenged the children to hold their breath for 30 seconds which brought much amusement. She shared that this alone took a lot of training and she would train six days a week for up to 11 hours a day!
Pupils at Westbury on Trym academy who have made significant achievements during the term are presented with a Red Squirrel award. The school felt it apt that Izzy should have one too, so headteacher, Amanda Pritchard, presented the Olympian with her Red Squirrel certificate.
The assembly concluded with the children firing questions at Izzy, one of which was ‘How did it feel to win a silver medal?’ to which Izzy replied ‘It was a dream come true – I can’t quite describe how it felt!’
Huge thanks to Izzy for taking the time to share her experiences and for inspiring future generations to aim high and work hard to achieve their dreams.