Consumables
PaperCo is selected as exclusive paper partner for Team Superschools
Friday 17. October 2008 - The Paper Company (PaperCo) has been chosen as the exclusive print and paper partner for a new Team Superschools initiative which will involve Olympians promoting sport to young people aged under 16. It is a project spear-headed by sprinter Darren Campbell MBE and 400m runner Todd Bennett, both Olympic medallists.
“This initiative fits well with our educational and health and wellness initiatives, part of our Corporate Responsibility strategy,” says Veronica Heaven, Corporate Responsibility Director of PaperCo. “Additionally it gives us a platform from which we can promote our industry as a career and as a business which cares about sustainability and environmental responsibility and is committed to a balanced future.”
The partnership will launch on 15 October at The Priory School, Orpington. The Olympians attending this assembly presentation will be:
Darren Campbell MBE
Christine Ohuruogu, Olympic 400m champion
Katharine Merry, Former Olympic 400m bronze medallist
Ashia Hansen, Commonwealth TJ champion, former indoor world champion and record holder
Christian Malcolm, Beijing Olympian (5th in 200m)
Ryan Bradley, GB gymnast
Todd Bennett, Olympic silver medallist
Underlining the national profile of Team Superschools and The Paper Company, the union jack flag will travel around the UK with Team Superschools so that kids can sign it, sending Good Luck messages to Team GB.
For future school visits PaperCo has developed a lively and interactive papermaking demonstration developed by PaperCo for either 5-9 year olds or 9 -14 year olds. A DVD promoting the paper and print industries is being developed with Proskills and this will also be distributed to participating schools.
Team Superschools wants to promote youth fitness ahead of the 2012 Olympics in London and it is appropriate that this launch with PaperCo should fall on the eve of many of the GB team visiting Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen and receive her congratulations on their fantastic achievements in Beijing, the best British performance since 1908.
PaperCos ambition is to take Team Superschools and the print/paper message to 503 schools a year over the next four years. Staff, customers and suppliers are being asked to nominate schools to have an Olympic champion visit and give an assembly and sports demonstration.
Aware of the aging population in the graphic arts sector generally it is keen to open students eyes to the great range of opportunities in this sector.
The Priory School is also delighted to be the launch site. Giles Platt, a School Sports Co-ordinator, says: “Team Superschools is a thoroughly professional organisation that shares our aim of encouraging more children to appreciate the benefits of an active lifestyle. It does so by using genuine sporting role models. This initiative also gives the school the opportunity to raise funds for P.E while supporting up-and-coming athletes which is especially important with 2012 just around the corner.
“Fun, inclusion and inspiration to support our future sporting champions must surely make for a winning combination. Team Superschools, with its passion and commitment to promoting sport for all, leads the way above any other regional and national school-friendly organisation. I truly hope that more sporting celebrities will be enticed to join Team Superschools; they might provide the key stepping stone for children from sporting ignorance to sporting excellence. The 2012 and subsequent Olympics as well as many other significant sporting occasions, are there in the waiting for British success.”‘
Other Olympians involved in the Team Superschools project are: Nathan Douglas, European triple jump silver medallist; Tom Parsons, high jump finalist; Rob Tobin, 4 x 400m runner; Larry Achike, triple jump finalist; Greg Rutherford, European silver medallist in long jump; and Chris Tomlinson, British long jump record holder.