Mayor praises Gary on inspirational speech

Rochdale Mayor Peter Rush with Gary Oliver

On Tuesday 1 April, Redwood Secondary School year 11 student Gary Oliver was invited to the Greater Manchester winter games at SportCity to address the VIP section of the opening ceremony.

Gary began by explaining what sport and particularly sport at Redwood has done for him. He described how through participation he has become healthier and fitter with improved confidence and increased life skills.

After his speech Gary was approached by Rochdale Mayor and Peter Rush who praised Gary on how inspirational his speech was.

Over 2000 young people participated in games and Gary was chosen to inspire VIP's.

He then went on the tour of the games experiencing behind the scenes and swapping stories with the VIP's, which included four athletes on a talent pathway to represent their country at the Olympics in 2018.

This was a fantastic achievement by one of our young ambassadors and he represented himself and the school in a fantastic manner.

Gary described the experience as "one of the best days of his life" and was immensely proud of himself.