Located in the school’s dining hall, the wall comprises a digital display, leaflet holders and suggestions box aimed at inspiring an interactive approach to boosting the health and fitness of the school community.

Helping to launch the new installation last Wednesday was Beth Tweddle MBE. Regarded as Britain’s greatest ever female gymnast, the three-time Olympian shared words of advice and encouragement with students, reflecting on the impact of sport in her own school days and the part it played in cementing her love of gymnastics.

Beth said: “It’s been amazing being here and seeing the launch of the Media Wall. I think the opportunities that the children are being given, whether that’s in school or within the local community, are great. Kids need to be given the opportunities to be able to find the pathway that they want to choose. For me, I just want to encourage children that dreams can come true. With a little bit of hard work, determination and resilience they can achieve what they want.”

The Media Wall has been installed thanks to the backing of Active Withernsea as part of a continuing partnership which, since September 2022, has seen the school receive funding and support to help create more sporting opportunities for its students and the wider school community.

The partnership has been assisted by the creation of a bespoke liaison role, with a member of staff in place to bridge the gap between sport at the school and in the community. Fulfilling this hybrid role is Nick Richmond, Teacher of PE at the school and Physical Activity Coordinator at Active Withernsea, who instigated the installation of the wall and led the organisation of last week’s launch event.

Nick said: “Lots of hard work from multiple partners has gone into this project in recent months, so it was great to see such a meaningful and successful launch.

Having Beth Tweddle on site as part of this was truly inspiring for all involved and her story, alongside the stories of our alumni, will hopefully motivate our students to get involved with some of the many opportunities being made available to them in school and in the wider Withernsea community”.   

Throughout the morning, each of the school’s five year groups were brought down to the dining hall where freelance radio presenter and event host, Darren Lethem, introduced students to the new features. Talking them through inspirational quotes from famous sports people, and words of advice from the school’s sporting alumni that surround the screen, Darren highlighted the many varied careers that are available for those with an interest in sport.

Sharing the story of her journey to sporting success, Beth revealed that she tried a number of sports at a young age, including ballet, horse riding and swimming, before discovering gymnastics. “None of them really took my fancy and that was OK. Eventually, I found gymnastics. As a child I was very shy, I didn’t like to be the centre of attention. I wasn’t necessarily the best at the academic side of things at school but when I found gymnastics, that was my moment to shine. I suddenly became this very confident child and as soon as I stepped on to the gymnastics floor, I realised that’s all I wanted to do.”

Competing from the age of eight, Beth soon found herself on the national team and regularly placed within the top six in the country. “I realised this was not only something I loved doing, but I was actually quite good too.”. Competing in her first national championships at the age of twelve, a self-confessed “bad day at the office” saw her experience a few falls which resulted in a much lower placing. “I’d always been used to seeing my name on the front of the score sheet and then suddenly I was having to turn two or three pages over and seeing that I was right down in fiftieth. I was so disappointed.”

A change of gymnastics club followed – a move which Beth says was ‘scary’ at the time, but soon proved to be a defining moment. “Suddenly I was going to the best club in the country, with one of the best coaches – and that was scary for me. I was thinking ‘I’m fiftieth in the country at the minute, how can I fit in here?’ but as soon as I walked in I realised that it wasn’t about being better than everyone, it was the club’s ethos to make the individual the best that they could be – and that has stuck with me.”

Hard work and determination soon saw Beth return to the top tier of her sport – becoming second in the country, with the realisation that the Olympics was now a realistic opportunity for her. In summer 2004, Beth had the honour of representing Great Britain in Athens – an experience which generated mixed emotions. “I wanted to be an Olympian – that was my ambition. I’d come ninth in qualification which made me first reserve, so I had to go to the final, prepare as if I was about to compete and then watch the top eight walk out while I just had to sit and watch. For me, that was soul-destroying. I wanted to perform. I spoke to my coach and said ‘it’s great being an Olympian, but I want to be an Olympic medallist’”.

Leading into Beijing 2008, Beth had her sights set on winning a medal. She flew out to the games with “the hardest routine in the world” which she executed near enough perfectly, until the final moments when she took an unexpected step. “That step is what cost me my Olympic dream. I was 0.025 away from winning an Olympic medal.”. Despite finishing fourth, Beth felt like she’d failed. In post-competition interviews, she put on a brave face – telling journalists how “amazing” the experience had been, but her Olympic dream remained unfulfilled. Dejected, but not defeated, she once again collected her thoughts and, demonstrating great resilience, reaffirmed her ambition of becoming an Olympic medallist.

Beth finally achieved her dream of winning an Olympic medal when she took bronze in the uneven bars at the London 2012 Olympics. “I always wanted to say ‘I tried’ rather than ‘I wish I had tried’ and London was my opportunity to perform in front of a home crowd. To stand there, having gone through twenty-years of gymnastics, and to pick up that Olympic medal was just a dream come true.

No Team GB athlete could have anticipated the amount of support that they were going to get at those games. It was incredible and I have so many fond memories. Never again will I get that feeling of walking into a stadium, with tens of thousands of people with banners and flags shouting and screaming your name. It was just the best day of my life.”

After stepping away from the competitive element of gymnastics upon retirement in 2013, Beth continues to be heavily involved with the sport - subsequently carving out a successful media career as part of the BBC commentary team, while running her own business that aims to inspire the next generation through recreational gymnastics.

Acknowledging the wider-reaching impact of sport on her life, Beth added: “Sport has taught me more than just how to do gymnastics. Yes, I’ve won an Olympic medal, learned how to do summersaults and flip around, but actually what I’ve learned through sport is way more than that. It’s the teamwork, the perseverance, the resilience, the leadership – all of those skills that, since I’ve retired, have been instrumental when running my own business.” 

Speaking directly to the students about the opportunities available to them, Beth said: “This Media Wall is going to be promoting all the different opportunities that are available to you and I really encourage you to get involved and try things. Some you may love, some you might not. You might think ‘that’s absolutely not for me’. Step away from it, try something else – take your friends along and have a laugh with it.

If you’ve seen something you think you really want to try, but there’s nowhere in the local community that offers it, speak up and let us know – we can’t change things for you unless you let us know what you want to do. I encourage you to make the most of this great opportunity.”

Beth’s encouragement was reinforced by a video message from Jess Park, a professional footballer for Everton and a member of England women’s national football team, the ‘Lionesses’. The former South Hunsley School student said: “This is an exciting new project to give you guys information on all the new sporting opportunities in your area. Hopefully there should be something for everyone, no matter what ability or interest you may have. Growing up locally, I just wanted to encourage you guys to utilise the wall and make yourselves aware of all the sporting opportunities in your school.”

Listening intently in one of the launch sessions was Year 9 student Adam Hoey, a promising young windsurfer who has already represented Great Britain in two international competitions. In fact, Adam had just returned to school that morning after being away competing at Lake Garda. He also has the unique distinction of being the only current student to be featured on the alumni wall as an inspiration to others in the school.

Adam said: “I really enjoyed meeting Beth. She was a really nice person and very down to earth.  I thought that her speech was really good and I found it quite moving and inspirational. For me, the key thing to take away from it was that she wasn't the best gymnast at the beginning, but through her hard work and determination she did ultimately succeed. I thought that was personally both relatable and inspirational because for me, competitively, sometimes things go well but equally they sometimes go badly - but that doesn't mean you should give up. You need to persevere if you want to achieve anything, especially your goals.”

Event host Darren Lethem added: “Being part of the Media Wall launch, the thing that struck me the most is how everybody is very supportive of each other. When I was at school, I don’t think we used to get the encouragement that children do nowadays. To see the support that they get, not only from the staff and from inspirational guests like Beth, but from their fellow students, is magnificent.

When we pointed out that one of the Year 9s was himself a GB sports star, he got a spontaneous round of applause from his classmates, which was fantastic and quite emotional actually. I’m sure he’ll never forget that.”

Following the morning’s introduction to the Media Wall, the school’s elected Sports Ambassadors, Youth Health Champions and Active Travel Ambassadors enjoyed a Q&A session with Beth where they were able to quiz her further about her life and career.

The students asked a number of pertinent questions surrounding training, routines and the pressure of performing at major events. They also quizzed her about her favourite memories, event locations and medals. Needless to say, the Olympic Bronze ranked at the top of the estimated 300 to 400 medals and trophies that she collected in her two decades of competing.

Beth’s impressive achievements not only include being an Olympic Bronze medallist, but also a triple World Champion, a six-time European Champion, a Commonwealth Champion and seven-times consecutive National Champion - accolades which helped her to become the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the World Championships, European Championships, and Olympic Games.

Beth’s inspirational journey, coupled with the stories of Withernsea High School’s own sporting alumni, offered the perfect backdrop to the launch of the Media Wall.

Kristina Richardson, Pilot Manager at Active Withernsea, said: “We wanted to ensure the launch day was one that would be remembered for years to come, but equally ensure that students were aware of the wall's full potential. The day was a great success with a special thanks to Beth who shared her own inspirational journey. 

The launch of the Media Wall was the realisation of months of hard work in the background between Active Withernsea, community groups, the High School and its past alumni, to collaboratively create something unique that promotes opportunities available in the local area and to inspire students to follow their dreams, no matter how big or small. 

Whilst we live in an area that is sometimes geographically isolated and financially challenged, there are incredible opportunities for students and their families of all ages and abilities. The school has seen a range of very successful students that have gone on to pursue their sporting aspirations, and we want existing students to feel fully supported to go on to pursue their own dreams and goals.

The impact of the wall has already exceeded our expectations and we will be using the new 'drop box' facility in September to engage further with students to explore what additional sporting opportunities they would like to see within our local community, and to build stronger pathways into existing community groups.” 

Mark Crofts, Headteacher of Withernsea High School, added: “The Media Wall is a fantastic way for us to celebrate successes of our young people and to inspire them. It's easy to get caught up in our own 'bubble', so by sharing what other people are doing in school, students get to see the full range of activities taking place and the many people involved.

However, in a direct and visual way, the Media Wall also shows students what is available right on our doorstep by showcasing the many established and new organisations and activities in our community. 

A lot of work has taken place across this year already, building new relationships between organisations, linking the experienced with the enthusiastic and reinforcing other long-standing relationships. The outcome of this is simple: more young people trying, enjoying and thriving at physical activities. We are excited by the desire our students are showing to get involved, but also by their willingness to lead. 

Alongside the Media Wall, we are also proud to display examples of our sporting alumni who serve as a true inspiration to our current students.

We were delighted to welcome Beth Tweddle to the school. Her inspirational message of hard work, resilience and determination was powerful, and is transferable to many settings both in and out of the classroom.  

With the help of Active Withernsea, we are pleased to offer an increasing array of sporting opportunities and associated support to our students. We look forward to further collaborative working in the months and years ahead.” 

ABOVE: Each year group was introduced to the Media Wall throughout the morning.

ABOVE: Beth Tweddle MBE with her Olympic Bronze medal at Withernsea High.

ABOVE: Event host, Darren Lethem, talks students through the wall’s features and inspirational quotes from the school’s sporting alumni.

ABOVE: ‘Alumni posters’ surround the dining hall, featuring inspirational quotes from former students.

ABOVE: Year 9 student and GB Windsurfer, Adam Hoey, has the distinction of being the only current student featured within the selection of alumni posters.

ABOVE: GB Windsurfer Adam Hoey was pleased to meet Beth.

ABOVE: The school’s team of elected Sports Ambassadors were one of the groups who took part in a Q&A with the Olympian. 

ABOVE: One of the year-group sessions, showing the Media Wall and some of the alumni posters, at the launch event.