Curwen Primary School in Newham, winners of the London 2012 ‘VeloDream’ competition last year, were visited by the designers and builders behind the London 2012 Velodrome this week to have a go at designing and building their own VeloPark.
The school beat more than 500 schools around the country to win last year’s ‘VeloDream’ competition which asked pupils to design their own dream Olympic cycling venues of the future. As part of the ODA’s commitment to involving the school throughout the construction programme, the school were visited on Tuesday by the architects and construction team behind the London 2012 Velodrome which is beginning to make its mark on the east London skyline.
A full day of activity at the school included a presentation on the London 2012 Velodrome, followed by a chance for the pupils to design and build a 3.5m x 2.5m model of the VeloPark. Six groups each worked with a member of the contractor team to create a section of the VeloPark. At the end of the day, all the sections put together to make the entire VeloPark, including Velodrome and BMX track.
Ms Helm from Curwen Primary School said: 'Working with the ODA and Velodrome designers has been an amazing opportunity for our children and allowed them to experience working as a team on a larger project. The final outcome was incredible and a testament to everybody’s hard work and creativity. As a school we are very excited about developing our own 'Olympic Legacy' through this Velodrome work.'
Year 6 pupils Chehit and Titash said: 'It was fantastic to work with the adults to build the whole VeloPark. We used trust, teamwork and lots of good ideas to build our different sections but the best bit was seeing the finished model at the end!'
Richard Arnold, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Velodrome Project Manager said: 'Visiting Curwen Primary School has been a great chance to bring the excitement of 2012 into the classroom and I was impressed by their innovative and imaginative designs for their own dream cycling venues. With our own Velodrome starting to take shape and make its mark on the east London skyline, it was good to meet the local young people that will benefit most from the world-class new cycling facilities we are building not just for 2012 but for generations to come.'
The London 2012 Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic Track Cycling events in 2012. After the 2012 Games, the legacy Velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities. A road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create a legacy VeloPark that will combine cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling ‘hub’.
Construction work on the Velodrome began on schedule in March and work well is now well underway on the structural steelwork that will help form the distinct double-curved shape of the venue.
The legacy VeloPark will be owned, funded and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The construction of the VeloPark facilities includes funding from Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), Sport England, Transport for London (TfL), and the London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT).
Notes to Editors:
1. Photos of the Velodrome activity at Curwen Primary School can be downloaded from
http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr130006079 – Ends –
For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700.
The construction of the venues and infrastructure of the London 2012 Games is funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Mayor of London and the London Development Agency.
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