GB wheelchair racer, Jade Jones, was the star of the show at a meeting of Tees Valley Leaders Academy Conference at Billingham Forum

Jade gave 40 students from colleges across the Tees Valley an inspirational talk highlighting her development as an international athlete, and the support she received through her career from volunteers.

At a school sports day, Jade met Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson who asked her to try a racing chair and that was the first step to London 2012, where she made her Paralympic Games debut aged just 16.

Jade is now studying for a full-time law degree at Teesside University alongside training full-time and said: “It is great to see so many young people interested in volunteering and supporting the development of sport in the Tees Valley, all the attendees have great potential and I am sure they will be great ambassadors for sport in the future.”

The Academy has been set up to support and inspire a generation of sports coaches and volunteers using sport as a stepping stone to develop their leadership skills and allowing them to build experience whilst working at the county wide Sainsbury’s School Games events next summer.

All the students successfully completed activator courses in tennis, athletics and volleyball as part of the Conference. The leaders will be encouraged to play a significant role in the Tees Valley School Games that culminates in major festivals throughout the summer. The leaders will support the delivery of the Games acting as coaches, officials, marshals and event coordinators.

The conference culminated with skating on Billingham Forum’s ice rink.