A sporting superstar dropped in to provide inspiration to students at The Island Free School.

Double Winter Olympics gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold, from Kent, was the guest at the school’s official opening ceremony of its new premises in Newport Road, Ventnor, yesterday.

Yarnold told pupils of the secondary school she never intended to take up the winter sport, but when she realised she was never going to follow the Island’s Kelly Sotherton and champion Jessica Ennis in that summer Olympics event, she went to Loughborough for talented athlete trials and ended up getting selected for the skeleton bob.

Yarnold, 29, went on to take gold in Sochi and PyeongChang.

She told students at the school of her determination to conquer illness to take her second gold.

Yarnold told the County Press she worked as part of the British team with Islander Kym Murray.

“Kym and I do a lot together. The Brits are a great team and we help each other all the time, learning courses etc.”

Headteacher of the Island Free School, Steph Boyd, told the students in the audience they must work hard to achieve success.

The 625-pupil school moved from its interim premises in central Ventnor, to the new site last school year.