Team GB canoeist Lizzie Neave inspired girls at a Snaresbrook school on Tuesday.

Lizzie, 25, was beaten in the semi-final after a promising start at the London 2012 Olympics, but is already training hard for the next Olympics, in Rio in 2016.

She was invited to Forest School, College Place, by pupil and keen canoeist Helena Stone.

The 15-year-old contacted Lizzie after watching her at the Olympics last year.

More than 100 Year 7 and 8 girls gathered to hear Lizzie talk about her love of canoeing, the experience of the Olympic Games and her plans for the future.

School press officer Humayon Pramanik said the schoolgirls then bombarded Lizzie with questions.

He said: “The students wanted to know all sorts, from how she prepared to how often she trains and what it was like being at the Olympic Park.

“She is inspiring young women to get into canoeing and kayaking because it’s a minority sport.

“But she said now is a bad time – in the cold. It will be easier in the summer.”

Lizzie, of Chingford, is training eight times a week in a bid to qualify for Team GB for the 2016 Games in Brazil.