Pupils celebrate teacher"s England rugby World Cup glory

AS summer holiday stories go, winning the World Cup takes some beating.

When Class One pupils returned to Bexhill Academy for the start of the new academic year, they discovered how their teacher Katy Mclean had led her national rugby side to victory.

The 29-year-old took in her winners’ medal in to show the youngsters and held a special assembly to tell the children all about her experiences.

Katy, whose England side claimed the cup after winning in the final against Canada last month, has signed up to become a full-time player in a deal which will see her squad become professionals.

Her time at the school, where she has worked since 2010, will come to a close next month, but she and its bosses plan to keep their links alive as she becomes an inspiration for future generations.

Katy said: “It’s been a manic summer and though the majority of the kids have seen the medal already on their parents’ phones, iPads or tablets and it’s just exciting to be back. The staff have been amazing, lots of people watched the game, some of the girls had it on in the pub, and people have been brilliant.”

Katy, from South Shields, said the decision to become a rugby professional was one of the toughest she has faced, torn between a career she loves and the game she is so passionate about.

But with the next Olympic Games on the horizon and the groundbreaking contract on offer to the squad, she said she could not pass up on what could be her only opportunity to play professionally.

Paul Martindale, the Town End school’s headteacher, said: “I watched the game on Sky and was following her on Twitter and sent a few messages saying how good she’d been and good luck for the next matches.

“It’s an unbelievable achievement for somebody to be a world champion and also hold a challenging job as a teacher and she’s done amazingly well in both careers. The assembly included her diary of her summer and we watched some clips of her lifting the cup.

“It’s a unique experience.

“But for us it has tinges of sadness because we’re going to lose a fantastic teacher, but she’s been offered the opportunity of a lifetime.

“People are so proud of her and the staff have been supportive and the feeling is it’s great to see a local girl has done good.”

Bosses at the Rugby Football Union say the contracts given to the squad, which includes 12 members of the World Cup-winning side, will help the team compete on a global level and prepare for the next Olympics.

Katy, who studied for a sports studies degree at Sunderland and has also worked for SAFC’s charity the Foundation of Light before joining Bexhill, will make the move to Surrey and train five times a week at Twickenham Stadium and Surrey Sports Park.

Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/story/239711.html

Pupils celebrate teacher"s England rugby World Cup glory