Olympic borough schools cannot afford mascots' fee

London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville have failed to visit a single school in an Olympic borough as headteachers struggle to pay their "exorbitant" appearance fee.

Pupils in Hackney were left disappointed after the two characters used to promote the Games stayed away, despite repeated requests by staff.
Emma Penzer, the head of Mandeville Primary, said her school had failed to qualify for a free visit, despite sharing a name with one mascot.
She said the school, from where pupils can see the Olympic stadium, was now considering paying £850 for the privilege. "Normally we would not even consider spending £850 on something like this," she said.

"But as our name is Mandeville and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the children, we have thought about it. We'd hoped for a free visit but didn't win the draw."

The £850 fee is to cover the two "actors" who put on the Wenlock and Mandeville costumes and also to pay for an assistant. A visit from one of the characters costs £600.

Neighbouring Newham has had one school visit, Greenwich one and Tower Hamlets three.

Andrew Boff, Tory spokesman on the Olympics at the London Assembly, said he will raise the subject as it appeared Hackney schools were "not getting their fair share". A spokesman for the London Org-anising Committee of the Olympic Games said: "Our priority is and has always been to make mascot visits available free to schools via initiatives and competitions."Wenlock and Mandeville have already visited many schools."

Lib-Dem peer Baroness Doocey said this year: "When Sebastian Coe launched the mascots he said they had been created for the children. He didn't say, providing the children were from affluent families."

Wenlock is named after the Shropshire town which held Olympic-style games in the 19th century and Mandeville refers to the Buckinghamshire hospital whose wheelchair games evolved into the Paralympics.