OLYMPIC champion Dame Kelly Holmes visited a school in the region yesterday to motivate more teenage girls to go for gold.

She met girls from the Sedgefield School Sport Partnership as part of the Norwich Union Girls- Active scheme.

Last year, a group of girls from the partnership attended a workshop with Dame Kelly.

She aims to reverse statistics that show girls are more likely to drop out of sport than boys, and challenged them to tackle the problem in their area.

The girls identified barriers that prevent peers from taking part in sport, and devised plans to overcome them.

They helped organise girlsonly sports weeks, introduced activities to PE lessons and afterschool clubs and improved changing facilities and PE kits.

Out of 100 action plans submitted, Dame Kelly decided to visit the five most impressive, of which Sedgefield was the only one in the region.

Yesterday, she joined them at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, in County Durham, and the adjacent South Durham Gymnastics Club for activities including gymnastics, cheerleading, fitness suite workouts and kickboxing.

She said: "Their plan is about engaging all ten schools in the partnership to spread the word.

"Now I am relying on these girls to bring about change in their areas, to pass it on to younger year groups so it lasts."

Natasha O'Brien, 15, a pupil at Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College, was part of the team that created the plan.

She said: "I am into sports, but I know PE lessons can get boring for some girls. I have known people forget their kits on purpose, some are lazy, do not enjoy certain activities or are self-conscious.

"We want to change the things that put them off and encourage them to give all sports a try and eventually find one they like and start to feel better."

Dame Kelly said: "The aim is not to find elite athletes, but it is about health and, importantly, the social benefits - enjoyment, developing communication and leadership skills, self-belief, esteem and confidence, a positive attitude to life. Sport has, without a doubt, done that for me.

"I hope that by targeting disengaged girls with new ideas, we can get them to realise the values of sport."