Paralympian Ade Adepitan MBE shared memories of growing up in the borough and the people who inspired him with youngsters at a primary school.

gsagdshgsd The Paralympian, who went to Lister Community School in Plaistow, visited Keir Hardie Primary School in Canning Town where he delivered a whole school assembly.

He spoke of growing up in Newham, the barriers he faced and the importance of aiming high and persevering to achieve our goals.

The school prefects also had the opportunity to interview Ade and asked him about who inspired him as he was growing up, becoming a para-olympian and competing in the Paralympics.

TV presenter Ade, is a wheelchair basketball player who contracted polio as a child which led to the loss of use of his left leg. He held an exciting wheelchair basketball demonstration for the Key Stage 2 children where he explained how to play the sport and operate the specialist basketball chair.

Some children were given the opportunity to try the chair out themselves and play against him.

Julie Chapman, cover supervisor at Keir Hardie, who went to the same secondary school as Ade and organised the visit, said: “It was amazing to have Ade come to visit us because he also went to school in Newham and is someone with whom the children can identify with and is a truly inspirational role model.”

Ade was born in Nigeria – but grew up in Plaistow – and won bronze at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. In 2012 he was one of the main presenters on Channel 4 for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and co-presented That Paralympic Show with Rick Edwards.