On Wednesday 1st May, students from Peacehaven Community School were enthralled by a visit by Team GB Handball star Mark Hawkins at Peacehaven Leisure Centre. 

 Mark gave a talk to GCSE students, telling them all about the sacrifices he had to make to get on team GB. The hard work in both his training and the wide range of varied secondary jobs he had to do to support his quest including how a bit of selfishness is necessary to obtain your goals.

 He continued about the details of his training, diet, and fitness in order to maintain his career; and the ups and downs of playing in a handball team abroad as he now lives and plays in Iceland. After there was a question & answer session, with PCS PE teachers Mr Gore and Mr Butterfield as keen to ask the Olympian questions as the students were.

 Following the talk, it was out onto the Astroturf, where the students appreciated training with Mark. He also refereed the matches and at the end of the session the students were all queuing up to shake his hand.

Brett Crowhurst, Operations Manager at Peacehaven Leisure Centre said: "Sportivate is a fantastic programme that allows us to engage with lots of young adults and inspire them to continue their involvement with sport. We are delighted to be able to continue to offer this programme throughout the Lewes district."

Teenagers and young adults across Sussex are reaping the benefits from a sports programme that aims to fulfil the London 2012 Games legacy to 'inspire young people to choose sport'.

 Sportivate is a £32m Lottery programme that gives 14- to 25-year-olds who aren't playing sport in their own time, access to six-week courses to give them the chance to find a sport they enjoy. The young people are then helped to find a club or venue where they can keep taking part.

 As part of the Places People Play mass participation legacy programme, Sportivate will see hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults across England completing sports courses over four years.

 To help inspire and motivate the participants, our Sporting Champions - a team of current and retired elite athletes, many of whom competed at London 2012 - will visit Sportivate sessions to share their experiences and enthusiasm for sport.