Great Britain’s Olympic hockey stars are coming to The King’s School as part of a nationwide programme to increase interest in the sport.

Beckie [corr] Herbert and Susie Gilbert will be guests of honour at the Ottery academy to talk about their preparation for London 2012 this summer.

The visit, on Friday, march 9, comes as part of the Hockey Nation, which will see British Olympic hockey players visit hundred of schools over the next two months.

Pupils will get the chance to try In2Hockey, a beginner’s version of the sport for 10 to 14-year-olds, followed by a question and answer session.

Beckie Herbert said: “I started playing hockey at school so it’s fantastic to be able to return to the playground, to meet the kids and speak to them about their sporting ambitions.

“The Olympic Games was always a massive inspiration to me growing up and if I can help inspire the next generation and recruit some new fans of hockey in the process then that would be great.”

Kate Wright, hockey teacher at The King’s, said it was fantastic to have two Great Britain players visiting the school.

She added: “Beckie and Susie are such great role models and they really do inspire and ignite passion within the pupils, especially as they will be seen on our TV screens later this summer at the Olympic Games.”