Mel hits the target with school pupils

Clarke, who won bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008, silver at the London Games in 2012 and is hoping to make it to her third consecutive Paralympics in Rio this summer, took youngsters from Snestow School through her remarkable story from near death to major success.

A mentor for Sky Sports' Living for Sport programme, she also led several team building exercises and introduced the group to the world of archery.

As well as her Paralympic achievements, Clarke has won club, county, regional, national, European and World Championships and holds world records too.

However, all of that could have never happened.

In 2003, Clarke became the first disabled archer in Europe to represent her county in an able-bodied team, but a few days into the tournament she was struck down with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection passed on via ticks.

She was left fighting for her life and subsequently suffered from paraplegia and loss of sight in one eye. Told by doctors she would never compete again, Clarke was determined to continue and worked tirelessly to recover from the illness.

Dedication

She even developed a new approach to archery which involves tilting her head over to aim correctly due to being blind in the eye she previously aimed with.

Two years later she defied the odds and won the Para World Championships, proving hard work and dedication, even in exceptional circumstances, truly does pay off.

Clarke now uses her story to inspire youngsters and is very passionate about her work with them in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust.

On the session with the group at Smestow, she said. "It was brilliant. There was a large group of around 34 involved and they all listened to my story, all wanted to get involved with the archery so it went really well.

"The work I do with the Youth Sport Trust is great because you're engaging with youngsters and getting them involved, that's what it is all about.

"I often say to the youngsters that life is about making the most of what it gives to you, and even if it hands you something unexpected you can get there through dedication and perseverance."

In terms of the Paralympic Games in Rio this summer, the Team GB line-up is yet to be announced but is expected to be in the coming weeks.

Having achieved bronze in 2008, silver in 2012, Clarke is determined to go one better once again. She admitted she never dreamed of being able to compete after her illness 13 years ago and is hoping to be in Brazil come September.

"My parents were told I might not survive so I never dreamed of being able to compete again," added Clarke. "Everyone wants to get gold at the Paralympics, to go to a third successive Paralympics would be a huge achievement for me.

"The qualification events are done, I have done all of the hard work so hopefully I can be there."

Rachel Vernon, from the Castlecroft school, said Clarke was 'brilliant' in introducing the students to a sport which is not featured in the regular school curriculum.

"It was a really good event. She did sessions with year seven, eight and 10 gifted and talented students and a low self-esteem group, so 34 students in total," she said. "The first session was all about her story, then there were some team building sessions and going out to do some archery on the tennis courts.

"All of the students got involved. It was a really unique experience for all of them as we do not have archery in the curriculum. Mel was brilliant, she got all of the students really involved and engaged with it all."