Sport is being used by staff at Tower Hamlets College to help motivate students with learning difficulties get more involved in the community.
The Enrichment support team took 20 students off to the 02 Arena recently for “the opportunity of a lifetime” when they were invited to train with the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks stars, part of the National Basketball Association’s ‘Cares’ programme.
The students were put into groups to work on their fitness, dribbling, free throws and passing.
Each group was supervised by professional basketball players who passed on their expertise to the students.
“I loved meeting the players,” said Luke Davidge, 20, from Poplar. “It brought everyone together. I can’t wait to do it again!”
The College in Poplar High Street took its own Basketball team and 15 students from the Foundation Learning department who all trained together.
The youngsters met NBA All Star Jason Kidd who is now the Brooklyn Nets’ coach.
Four students also got the chance to go to the Basketball game next evening, where they were introduced to the crowd at half-time along with NBA legends John Amaechi and Dikembe Mutombo.
College Mentoring Coordinator Tanya Blake said: “We’ve been working with Special Olympics Great Britain for four years who provide training for people with learning disabilities. It’s important that sport is inclusive and accessible to everyone.”
Tower Hamlets College offers courses for under-19s and adult learners along with apprenticeships from its TowerSkills apprenticeship division. It has managed to get 30 placements in one leading accountancy firm alone in Canary Wharf, KPMG.
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