GOLD Olympic medallist Courtney Fry was in Bolton to help young people fight the effects of stress and anxiety.

Courtney, who also boasts a gold Commonwealth medal, visited Smithills School to speak to a group of Year 10 pupils about health minds.

He helped trained six young people ­— Joe Holland, Saara Omar, Fitina Juma, Michael NDokwo, Jamie Lee Watson and Joy Uche ­— as ambassadors to pass on his message and helps students throughout school tackle stress and anxiety.

Courtney spoke to a larger group about how to deal with everyday stresses and exam anxiety.

Joy said: "I really liked working with Courtney he was very funny and we did a lot of work to do with mental health and I found it really helpful because sometimes I feel like I could help other people but I just don’t know how to."

Joe added“I feel really proud to become a student ambassador and I really enjoy helping other people."

Boxer Courtney said: "In my lifetime I’ve been an amateur boxer, gold medallist, Olympian and now this is what I love doing, this is my drive, this mental health project.

"We work with the mental health ambassadors to understand what mental health means to them, how they combat the stresses, how they can deliver to the nurture group and then design a project to help them.

"They’ve come up with an excellent project and understand how a lot of young people may not want to speak to a teacher, so we are trying to break that barrier down and they are going to take there place.

“The dynamics of the group have been spot on, listening, they are giving constructive feedback and ideas."

Mr Fagan, Year 10 Director of Learning, said: "It was nice to see as a teacher all the students engaging in the workshops with Courtney and coming up with innovative ways to improve health and wellbeing and school based anxiety."

Courtney is one of a number of sportsmen and women to visit schools to inspire young people to reach their goals through staying fit and healthy both physically and mentally.