Olympian and world bronze medallist Steve Gawthorpe will be staging a special guest training session at Prince William Upper School on Friday 24 February.

Steve will be assisted by Dave Baldwin from Wellingborough Judo Club and Laurence Kenyon, British Judo’s East Midlands Development officer and event organiser.

From 3.30pm there will be a session for those in School Year 9 upwards and at 4.30pm a session for anyone in School Year 3 and upwards. The sessions are free, and all participants will be able to borrow a judo jacket and belt if necessary.

The aim of the open sessions is to develop an on-going community club at the school that will allow all those who want to participate in judo the opportunity to do so without having to travel to neighbouring areas such as Corby, Kettering or Peterborough. Information about this will be distributed at the session and be available from the school thereafter.

Laurence Kenyon said: “As someone who has participated in judo in the Oundle area previously I think there’s a great opportunity to develop the accessibility of the sport in the region by providing opportunities for children.”

If you would like to take part you can just turn up on the day, at the relevant session for you. It would however be useful to gauge numbers so please e-mail your name to: Laurence.kenyon@britishjudo.org.uk with a contact number to confirm a place.