A former Paralympic champion visited a primary school in Chorleywood this week.

Former 800m world record Danny Crates visited Christ Church School in Chorleywood on Tuesday, June 21, where he promoted the Paralympic movement.

The 43-year-old went to the school after it entered a competition and made a video about their disabled classmate, Ollie.

The year 6 class won the national competition called Get Set to be a Paralympic Champion and Crates visited the school and took part in a film workshop.

The former 400 and 800metre runner said: "I saw the film of Ollie and saw how driven he is, not just him but I also saw how inspirational his classmates are. It's been great to come in and be filmed and interviewed by Year 6.

“I've been interviewed by many international and media people, but these guys were as good as they come. They truly live by the Paralympic values."

Crates represented Great Britain in the T46 events in Sydney in 2000, where he came 3rd in the 400m event, and he claimed the gold medal in the 800m four years later in Athens.

Rob Kitson and Jamie Macdonald, from EdComs who came to run the workshop, said: “They were brilliant. They were fantastic and generous and lett each other take part.

“They were helpful and patient with each other and the end result was fabulous. By the end of the day they were working independently as mini film makers - they are a credit to the school.”

The 43-year-old broke the world record in 2004, with a time of 1:53.27 and was selected as flag bearer for the opening ceremony in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The world record is now held by Austrian runner Gunther Matzinger.

Christ Church School Teacher Laura Clow: “The children all loved working with the professional equipment and realised that every role in the filming process can be rewarding.”

Ollie said: “I was super excited to meet a real Paralympian athlete. Danny had seen our video and he knew my name. He gave me a signed copy of his autobiography.”