Woodville Primary School in South Woodham were thrilled to welcome Katie Archibald to their school on St. George’s Day for an inspiring assembly in the lead up to Ford RideLondon-Essex 2024. 350 children eagerly listened to Katie talk about her journey, her goals, and the benefits that physical activity has not only on your health, but on your development into adulthood as well.
Katie Archibald is a double-Olympic champion on the track and cycling has always been a huge part of her life. Riding for CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling, who will be entering a team into the Ford RideLondon Classique, Katie had recently returned from Canada following a successful Track Nations Championship where she won three gold medals.
Being one of the most inspirational female track cyclists, it was an amazing opportunity for the pupils of Woodville to listen and learn about Katie’s journey and aspirations. After addressing the whole school, there was a short Q&A session with the Year 6 classes, which was a more in-depth session where the children could fire away with their questions!
The Year 6’s learnt about the dedication needed to be an Olympian involving training and diet, as well as going into detail about how Katie discovered her love for cycling. Attending the Olympic games and winning so many titles kept the whole class engaged as they discovered what it takes to excel at an activity you love.
There was an opportunity for us to speak to Katie and she told us;
“If you want to get into cycling, the easiest way is to join a club, as there’s this lovely thing where people in the club just want to pass on their knowledge to you and if you’re there with open ears, you’ll learn so much. Cycling is such a good social sport.”
Speaking to Katie, it was evident she’s keen to encourage young people to engage in cycling not from a professional or racing perspective, but to just ride for the love of it. When addressing the children and also talking to us, Katie wanted to highlight that cycling is an amazing way to socialise, spend time with family and travel. Showcasing to young people that cycling is more than a competitive activity was essential for the day to inspire the pupils to enjoy being active in whatever way makes them feel good.
Drawing on the Ford RideLondon Classique and the benefits this event has, Katie told us;
“Something that’s close to my heart is to have women’s professional cycling on the world stage and for young girls to realise that when you’re watching the TV and see the Tour De France, that there is more out there as the climate we’re in is very different and the exposure for women’s elite sport is so much more.”
Inviting Katie to the school was not only a chance to inspire pupils to cycle more, it was also an opportunity to highlight one of the teachers cycling journey. Paul White, Deputy Headteacher at Woodville, will be completing the mass participation event on May 26th and has been busy preparing and training on his road bike! Paul is a real advocate for active travel, as he often commutes from Hornchurch to South Woodham Ferrers on his bike!
Having the opportunity to showcase both an amazing athlete and the upcoming Ford RideLondon-Essex 2024 event was fantastic, and engaged a whole school of young people! When talking about the mass participation event, the cheers and smiles coming from the children highlighted their enthusiasm to get out on route and support, which will hopefully inspire them to get active and set themselves their own goals and challenges.
We wanted to thank Katie Archibald and Woodville Primary School for allowing us to organise this event and filming, it was an inspiring day we hope the young people will cherish.
