An enthusiastic sportswoman has been nominated as Croydon Champions’ teacher of the year for changing her pupils’ lives through her passion for PE.

Maureen Chitty, 62, of Woodcote High School, was an Olympic long jumper who became a PE teacher and later turned to coaching special needs children.

The passionate teacher competed for Britain in the 1968 Mexico and the 1972 Munich Olympic games.

The mother-of-two had her first PE teaching post at the age of 22, helping less enthusiastic students realise sport can be fun.

She said: “When I first started teaching, I realised many girls were not motivated about PE, so I introduced them to activities such as aerobics and dancing, which changed their attitudes.”

Sport is a significant part of Mrs Chitty’s life, but her contribution to the community and children with special needs is even more incredible, said friends.

Derek Chitty, her husband, said: “With the support of the headteacher at Woodcote High, Maureen has created a whole new department with a large team of dedicated support teachers to ensure all students coming into the school with special needs have an equal opportunity to achieve.”

She has helped many students. She remembers one disabled girl who came to her in 2006 with physical and mental difficulties. Mrs Chitty negotiated with the headteacher and Croydon Council to have wheelchair lifts built at the school, keep a walkie-talkie with the student at all times and transfer the teaching assistant from her primary school to accompany her at Woodcote.

Mrs Chitty has worked hard in Croydon to promote athletics.

In 2004, she was actively involved in a campaign for a new arena in Purley Way because she felt there was a lack of sporting facilities in South Croydon.

She also chaired the Croydon School Athletics and South Croydon Athletics teams for more than 10 years, organising training and competitions for future sporting talents.

Mr Chitty said: “She is devoted to teaching, but like all good teachers, Maureen does not get recognised for the hard work and dedication.”