Olympic stars support local teenager

Nathan Milner and his mentor, European skateboarding champion Neil Danns

Nathan Milner of Rochdale is one of 20 young people selected to work with sports mentors on projects across the country.

These mentors include Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer Adam Whitehead; Judo Olympian Chloe Cowen; and Jenna Downing, a world champion extreme inline skater.

The programme helps unlock the potential of young people aged 14-19 who have shown commitment and integrity in the face of challenging personal circumstances.

The Unlocking Potential programme will help the 20 participants run a social action project in their local community – which could be anything from tackling anti-social behaviour to improving recycling opportunities. Each participant will be supported throughout by their sports mentor and the teacher who nominated them.

The 20 participants met their mentors for the first time yesterday (Friday 11 May) at a Team event in central London. Over the next six months Nathan will work closely with his mentor on a project to improve the local community.

The 20 young people taking part in the programme were all nominated by their teachers, an idea Dame Kelly Holmes had after her PE teacher spotted and encouraged her potential at school.

Dame Kelly Holmes said: “I’m delighted my charity, the DKH Legacy Trust, is working with AQA to deliver the Unlocking Potential programme.

“It’s not an easy time at the moment for young people, but I’m sure this group will make a really positive impact on their local communities. It’ll be a great experience for them; they’ll be managing their own projects to benefit local people. They’ll gain some fantastic skills from Unlocking Potential that will really benefit them as they enter adult life.”