Students at Wales High School Raise the Bar with mettle Weightlifting Club

Students receiving their scholarships and bursaries at Sheffield Hallam University

Students at Wales High School have been awarded certificates and scholarships from Sheffield’s award-winning club, mettle.

More than 30 Wales High School students completed a six-week introductory course in Olympic Weightlifting called ‘Raise the Bar’. It shows children the basic building blocks in strength training and weightlifting for personal development, fun and fitness.

Dave Hembrough, mettle founder and head coach said: “At mettle, we want to help as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of strength training to be fit, healthy and happy.

Weightlifting, when guided by quality coaches, is a safe, enjoyable, and accessible activity. It is recommended for both children and adults in the national physical guidelines.

Wales High School’s commitment to extra-curricular and enrichment activities is very strong, with an extensive programme of opportunities to broaden students’ horizons.

Lisa McCall, Headteacher at Wales High School, said: “At Wales, our ambition is for every student to leave education with an interest and passion for keeping themselves fit and for them to live a healthy lifestyle.

“Dave and his team at mettle are fantastic role models and have used their expertise to enable our students to feel more confident in their own fitness and develop a love for weightlifting. I would recommend other schools to seek out collaboration with mettle, as the impact on our students has been immeasurable.”

Upon completing the programme students had the opportunity to attend a celebration event where they visited a gold standard strength and conditioning suite at Sheffield Hallam University.

Student feedback also shows how popular the sport could become among other young people. Caleb S said: “I really enjoyed the sessions, and it has encouraged me to look at other sports. I have joined a gym and am keen to look at continuing strength sports.”

Grace W, another student from Wales High School said: “Pushing my limits and achieving things I didn’t think possible. I have also started to do some weights at Junior Gym.” 

Dave Hembrough mettle founder said: “Weightlifting has many negative stereotypes, myths and misconceptions, especially around youth weightlifting. mettle is campaigning to set the record straight and share the sport with the world.”

The six-week programme is the start of a continuing collaboration between mettle and Wales High School.  The aim of which is to use weightlifting and physical activity to support young people to be healthier, more confident and to achieve great outcomes in life.

mettle offers a range of programmes working in collaboration with schools and other community partners.