Olympic table tennis player turned sports reporter Matthew Syed opened a school's new £2m sixth form centre.
The three-time Commonwealth champion performed the honours at Lampton School, in Lampton Road, Hounslow, on Thursday (March 26).
As the author of Bounce, which champions the notion hard work trumps innate talent at delivering success, he was the perfect choice to deliver some inspiring words for the students who will use the building.
The centre, named after outgoing headteacher Dame Sue John, was built after years of campaigning by senior staff at the school. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) provided £1.9m, with the school making up the difference.
The building includes a large reception hall and meeting rooms for careers advisers, and the project was designed and managed by staff at the school to keep costs down.
The school's sixth form has doubled in size over the last few years and the new centre was designed with future expansion in mind, allowing for the creation of extra classrooms.
Dame Sue John, who will be succeeded by Stephen Davis when she steps down this summer, said: "We're so unbelievably proud to unveil our new sixth form centre, which has been the culmination of years of campaigning and hard work from my senior leadership team.
"Our previous building was highly inadequate for our ever-increasing sixth form, and I'm so pleased that in my final term, I will have the opportunity to see it being used and appreciated by Lampton School students."
