International athlete, TV presenter and star of the hit show 'Gladiators', Caroline Pearce, joined us in School to present the awards at the Sports Presentation Evening.

At the event, Caroline spoke of some of her sporting experiences, the importance of her education and congratulated the 97 prize winners on their excellent achievements during this academic year.

Students from Year 4 in the Preparatory Department and Senior School gained recognition for individual successes, team achievements, most valuable players in curriculum sports and overall sporting personality.

Caroline has had an amazingly varied career which began when she became the youngest competitor at the England Schools Championships where she competed in the sprint hurdles aged just 11. She first represented Great Britain at age 15 in the pentathlon and progressed to senior honours and a place in the European Cup Heptathlon Team at 24.

The following winter she transferred her natural speed and power to ice and made her debut in the Great Britain Bobsleigh Team. She went to the World Bobsleigh Championships in Calgary, Canada, where Team GB secured the silver medal.

A modelling career accompanied Caroline’s athletic success and she became the face of the adidas-polar range in 2005. She has also modelled for Nike, Reebok, Speedo, Ron Hill and Do running.

Following her competitive sporting career, Caroline has become a renowned authority in the fitness industry, starting as the face and education spokesperson for Power Plate International, a leading acceleration training machine.  Her success and acclaimed physique have seen Caroline appear as a fitness expert on ITV’s ‘LK Today’, Channel 5’s ‘You Are What You Eat’ and ‘Ireland AM’.

In 2008 Caroline auditioned for a role of a Gladiator on Sky 1’s re-launch of the highly successful sports entertainment show, ‘Gladiators’. She became better know as ‘Ice’, a name based on her winter sports experience as well as her blonde hair and blue eyes. The successful re-launch of Gladiators saw Caroline in high demand; she appeared on ‘The Friday Night Project’, ‘BBC Switch’, Sky Poker’s ‘The Club’ and ‘T4 On The Beach’. She has also been featured in numerous magazines, including ‘New’, ‘Heat’ and ‘FHM’.

Head of PE at the School and organiser of the event, Annette Poulain, said: “Caroline has many stories to tell and I am sure she has inspired and amused everyone.  Whichever area she has been in however, whether it be sporting, modelling or on TV, she has always been extremely focused and shown great commitment to the job in hand, assets which all our sporting stars of the future will need to develop and embrace. Students at the Peterborough School have excelled in many sports this year and I have really enjoyed a great evening celebrating their wonderful achievements”. 

Caroline is pictured here with Georgie Ivens, the outgoing Sports Captain and winner of the Sporting Personality award, and Saqib Farooq, the new Sports Captain for the academic year 2011-12.