They have joined LOCOG as part of The Get Ahead School Leavers' Programme which offers those leaving school or college a chance to work full time at LOCOG and play their part in the biggest show on earth.

Download pictures of the London 2012 school leavers with Boris Johnson

The young recruits aged between 17 and 19 met Boris Johnson at his office in City Hall as part of an exciting and engaging two week induction. They asked him questions about his thoughts on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and got insight in to the work he is doing. Other things they did on the induction included tours of the Olympic Park and other London 2012 venues, workshops with London 2012 Partners and talks with Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists Jonathan Edwards and Chris Holmes.

They have now started the first of their two month placements in different departments within LOCOG and after their four months of training they will take up a permanent role in the department which best matches their skills and interests.

Placements for the School Leavers programme are available in the Commercial Sponsorship, Technology, Games Services, Culture, Ceremonies and Education, Human Resources, Brand and Marketing, Strategy and Programme Management, Villages, Venues & Infrastructure, Sport, Security, Communications & Public Affairs and Finance departments giving the school leavers the best understanding of how an Organising Committee works.

Four of the school leavers are from the Host Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Hackney whilst the others are from Theydon Bois, Dagenham, Feltham, Wembley, Lewisham, Camden, Tottenham, Croydon, Chorley Wood, Crawley and Macclesfield.

Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of LOCOG said: “London 2012 is proud to welcome these young school leavers. Not only will they will gain valuable experience over the next two years, but our organisation can benefit from their energy, enthusiasm and passion. I am looking forward to working with them with and achieving our vision of inspiring the youth of the world with these bright and talented people.”

Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London said: "It was a pleasure to welcome such an enthusiastic bunch of young adults into City Hall and answer their questions. By participating in this LOCOG programme they have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to contribute in the preparation and execution of the greatest show on earth in 2012. I wish them the very best of luck over the coming two years and look forward to meeting them again as we all prepare for the eyes of the world to focus on London."


- Ends –


For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012
Notes to editors:  

As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now nineteen domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Gymnova, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, Next, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Technogym, Ticketmaster and Trident.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury’s.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.