In The News
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In The Newswww.DavidASpencer.com/rainesfoundation/inthenews.html |
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Raine's rising star East End Life, Issue 439, p. 24, 23 December, 2002 - 12 January, 2003 http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/templates/news/detail.cfm?newsid=1227
EVERY now and again, a school discovers a rare sporting gem. The borough of Tower Hamlets has unearthed its fair share over the years with Arsenal footballer Ashley Cole (Bow Boys) and Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King (Blessed John Roche) just two examples. Raine's Foundation School has also proved itself something of a production line of sporting ability. Former pupil Phillips Idowu looks set to one day replace Jonathan Edwards as the country's best triple jumper, while Simone Callender is a Commonwealth gold medallist in judo. It's no surprise then to learn that another Raine's pupil, 15-year-old Adrian Pettigrew, looks destined for big things. The schoolboy is currently on the books of Chelsea Football Club, but that's only one third of the story as he's just as good at basketball and athletics. Adrian arrived at the school in 1998, and has since proved himself a multi-talented pupil, both in sport and academically. On the basketball courts he helped his school win borough and regional tournaments and was selected for the East London Royals Basketball Club, for whom he scored the winning basket in the English Passerelle National Basketball Championship final against Manchester. England honours soon followed while he helped Raine's become the most successful basketball school in the country, steering them to the 2001 English schools title against Bluecoat Boys School of Liverpool. Despite now concentrating on football, Adrian continues to play for the East London Royals, who have won the National Club Championships every year that he has competed. The club's coach Humphrey Long said: "Adrian is a precocious talent who has already achieved a high level of success in basketball. "He is a very personable young man, who has not allowed success to spoil him. His football talent was also nurtured at Raine's and offers soon came in from Arsenal, Charlton Athletic and Chelsea. He chose the latter and is now part of their academy, training four times a week. He was selected for the England under-16 team at 14, competing against Northern Ireland, Spain, Scotland and Israel. He is now playing for the England under-17s. "I hope I can make it as a professional footballer, said the central defender. If not he could always concentrate on his athletics, his third area of speciality. In 2000, he high-jumped 1.82 metres to break the British record for his age. He also led the national rankings in hurdles representing London in the England Schools National Championships, where he ran the 80m hurdles in an astonishing 11.4 seconds. Last year he was one of ten finalists in the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year out of 600 nominations. Despite all his hours of training, Adrian still finds time to study and is due to take 11 GCSEs. Copyright © 2003 EastEnd Life |
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Further information about Raine's Foundation School today can be found at: www.rainesfoundation.org.uk
Further information about The Old Raineians' Association can be found at: www.oldraineians.com
Further information about individual Old Raineians, including their memories of the school and their teachers, a message board, a list of famous pupils and some school photographs, can be found at: www.friendsreunited.co.uk
