Story by Craig Evry Pictures by Trevor Porter

MINISTER for Sport Kate Hoey visited Kingdown School in Warminster on Tuesday to help launch its specialist sports college status.

Joined by headteacher Sheelagh Brown and special guests, including Julie Jones, of the Lawn Tennis Association, Ms Hoey unveiled a plaque commemorating the school's new status in front of 280 pupils.

Praising the school's two-year efforts to gain the status, Ms Hoey spoke of the importance of sport within the school and in the community as a whole.

She said: "It's a very nice atmosphere in this school and it is a very focused community here. I think the specialist school status will bring a lot of extra benefits to the community as well and the more times we can do this the better.

"I consider myself to be quite a hands-on sports minister and because I have a background in schools I love coming out to places like this.

"As Minister for Sport I do see specialist sports colleges as being a very important fundamental bedrock of our sporting future.

"What you are doing here in terms of this status is about increasing the standards in education overall."

Now the school wants £500,000 of Lottery funding to help build an all-weather playing pitch and increase the number of tennis courts.

Mrs Brown believes the future for the school is an exciting one.

She said: "It is our hope that somebody from Kingdown will become an Olympian. What a good time to become a sports college, as the country is ready for all this to happen.

"It has taken two years and there were times that we thought we wouldn't make it. In a town like Warminster it is not easy to raise the money.

"There has been such a buzz in the whole school, especially this week, and all the kids have been up for this. We are all getting involved in sport."