Be Number 1 For Schools is an initiative that engages schools with local aspiring athletes.

Our aim is to support teachers to achieve healthy schools by getting athletes to share their experiences with children and young people to inspire them to achieve their own ambitions.  And at the same time help raise funding for the athletes who would otherwise struggle with their campaigns.

The athletes who have signed up to Be Number 1 are keen to engage with children and the wider community. They want to share the magic of what it takes to reach a personal goal and to encourage young people to live their dreams.  Each athlete has a story to tell about how they got into sport and how with hard work and determination how they hope to succeed. 

Visits are intended to encourage young people to create a positive vision for their health, fitness and future. To help make Olympic and other sports more real for young people and to promote community cohesion, sport, health, enterprise and fun!

Be Number 1’s main purpose is to raise money for athletes so that they can help fill their funding gap for their training and fulfil their sporting potential. The schools programme is important as it will help local business and brands recognise the community and social benefits of an athlete as a role model. We expect some schools will be active fundraisers and others will work with local businesses, which will gift sponsorship. We do not expect schools to fund raise entirely for an athlete’s funding shortfall but we do expect them to support their athlete.


Be Number 1 is the brainchild of Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb, who have achieved gold medals at two Olympic Games but who have struggled to finance their campaigns.  They hope this initiative will help others to find the courage, responsibility and get-up-and-go to find the finance and support they need to achieve their ambitions. To find out more about Be Number 1 click here.

A CHALLENGE: LAND’S END
TO JOHN O’GROATS
A team of elite athletes is travelling from one end of the UK to the other. Sarah Ayton, a  gold medal Olympian, is visiting schools on the way to take the Olympic spirit into classrooms. They hope to raise £100 a mile for the British Heart Foundation.
Register your school’s interest in having a free visit from an athlete and help inspire your kids to believe that they too can achieve, click here.

To promote sustainability and community cohesion we are trying to match athletes with their local schools. This means that in some areas we expect matches to be unlikely. However we are also encouraging more athletes to register to galvanise national support and involvement.

Click here for a selection of the press coverage from our Athlete School visits.

Olympic superstars sail into school
Pupils at Okehampton Primary were encouraged by Olympian stars to follow their dreams and strive for their goals. The visit was heralded by headteacher Brian Cunningham as a first class example of how children can be inspired.
Olympic medallists visit Bristol school
They were named 'Three Blondes in a Boat', but Olympic medallists Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson were land-locked when they visited Ashton Gate Primary School.
Golden moment for Raigmore pupils
OLYMPIC gold medallists Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb visited Raigmore Primary School yesterday to chat to pupils about the Games and health and fitness.