Gold medallist Dunc\an Goodhew at Busy Bees and the end of their Olympic Torch relay

Former Olympic champion swimmer Duncan Goodhew was among special guests at a nursery as it celebrated the end of its own torch relay.

He was joined by staff, children and families at the Busy Bees nursery in Western Gateway in ExCeL, Silvertown.

They were celebrating the finale of their Golden Mile Relay as their cuddly versions of a giant bee and torch arrived for the last leg of their 136 day tour of their nurseries across the UK. All their 2-5-year-old children, parents and staff have been spending their days getting ‘up’ and ‘active’ to raise money for the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust.

It is the climax of a national event that involved over 11,500 children aged 2-5 across the UK. Busy Bees has combined a commemorative Olympics theme with a physical activity programme called the Golden Mile to promote healthy living and raise awareness of their fund-raising initiative – a pledge to raise £44,000 for the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust.

Since the beginning of January a child-friendly Bee-themed torch has been making its way around 136 Busy Bees Nurseries across the UK. Sports personalities and Paralympic champions have been supporting the nurseries at various stages of the journey, including Dame Kelly Holmes, Olympic Sailor Hugh Styles, and Paralympic 800m and 1500m runner Tim Prendagast.

Lisa Snell, Childcare and Curriculum Manager for Busy Bees, said: “The reason for holding our own torch relay was twofold – one, to help launch the golden Mile initiative in every Busy Bees Nursery in the country and two, to make the Olympics relevant to a four year old – it’s a monumental event and might not happen in the UK again within their lifetime – the children have now met Olympians and Paralympians and some have even had photos with them and have been presented with medals – so now they have a connection and so have their families.”