A GROUP of 20 pupils from Basildon’s De La Salle School had a day they will never forget with Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Ennis and 19 other Olympians hosted the pupils at her training track at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield after the school won a nationwide competition organised by Sky Sports’ Living for Sport scheme.

The youngsters took part in nine activities: Hockey, judo, basketball, athletics, football, gymnastics, rugby, boxing and badminton.

Other Olympic stars there on the day included sprint legend Darren Campbell, hockey star Alex Danson and sprinter Jeanette Kwakye.

Sarah Rothwell, head of PE at De La Salle School said: “Our pupils had an amazing experience joining Jessica Ennis Hill and the brilliant athlete mentors in Sheffield.

“They participated in new and exciting activities throughout the day, including judo and boxing. The pupils left the day proud, inspired and motivated. I believe they will remember this experience and the lessons learned for many years to come.”

Ennis-Hill said: “When I first became an ambassador for Sky Sports Living for Sport I had this vision of getting many schools together with the Athlete mentors to create a day where we could use sport to inspire young people to try a different range of sports, build new skills and push their boundaries a little further.

“Winning my Olympic gold medal was one of the highlights of my career but being able to see all these young people in action gaining a bit more confidence and self-belief through sport, that’s something that you can’t really put a medal on. It’s just an incredible feeling.”

Sky Sports Living for Sport is a free national schools-based initiative delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust that uses sports stars and sports skills to help build young people’s confidence and life skills.