A group of lucky school pupils headed to London to watch the Olympic games after winning some of the hottest tickets in town.
Children from across Barnsley got tickets as part of the Newham Barnsley Partnership's 'Praise Postcards' scheme in which students, parents and teachers nominated children for their achievements in school.
Matthew Miller, a promising young athlete from Dearne Advanced Learning Centre, got the chance to watch some of the boxing action.
Olympic medallist Dorothy Hyman, diver Megan Sylvester, judo star Steve Gawthorpe and local swimming sensation James Kirton attended a prize draw at the Dorothy Hyman Stadium in Cudworth earlier this year to pick the winners and a total of 26 pairs of tickets were given out to pupils from schools including Keresforth Primary School, The Hill, Thurnscoe, Penistone Grammar School, Barugh Green Primary School and Thurgoland Primary Schools.
The scheme is the only one of its kind in the UK and forms part of the programme of events and activities generated through the Newham Barnsley Partnership, a sporting and cultural partnership between the two boroughs.
Oliver Coppard, partnership manager, said: “The theme of the London 2012 Olympics is ‘Inspire a Generation’ and this is exactly what the Newham Barnsley Partnership is aiming to achieve.
“We want to raise the aspirations of our young people and recognise their achievements and what better way to do this than to give them the chance to witness some of the best athletes in the world for themselves.”
