A FORMER England cricketer presented students with awards yesterday, in recognition of their voluntary sports coaching.
Geoff Cooke, a member of Durham County Cricket Club's staff and former England player, presented three Roseberry Comprehensive School sixth formers with Millennium Volunteer Sport Awards of Excellence after they gave up 200 hours to organise sports events and coaching.
Paul Beattie, Emma Pearson and Deborah Skelton, from the school in Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, had helped to run extra-curricular sports clubs, holiday fun clubs for primary school children and community sports groups with Chester-le-Street leisure services. The Millennium Volunteer sports scheme is administered by the British Sports Trust and requires young people from 16 to 24 to volunteer to lead sports events.
Head of physical education at the school Pam Turner said: "Over the whole of the country I think there's only been a few hundred sports excellence awards handed out. It shows their level of commitment."
The school was recently awarded a Sports Mark award from Sport England and is putting together a bid to become a specialist sports college.
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