Former Olympian takes first steps on career with police

A FORMER Olympian has swapped the ski slopes for the South Yorkshire streets as she takes on her latest challenge as a police constable.

Molly Summerhayes, 23, took part in the Winter Olympics in Pyongyang in 2018 but has opted for an entirely new career after retiring from professional sport.

Ms Summerhayes, inset, from Sheffield, has just begun South Yorkshire Police’s Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship ( PCDA) at Sheffield Hallam University, which combines on- thejob learning with academic study in a three- year programme.

“Retiring from sport was one of the hardest things in the world,” she said. “After making the decision to stop, I knew I needed to find a career which would give me as much excitement as that had done. Policing was something I’d always had at the back of my mind, so I thought I’d give it a go. I was waiting desperately to be able to register for the PCDA and signed up as soon as it opened for applications.”

After sailing through the assessment stages, Ms Summerhayes started at Sheffield Hallam University two weeks ago. She said: “The best thing about this is that I get a degree, I get to be hands on straightaway and I also get paid a proper wage from the start.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity that you’re not always told about. What appealed to me is the fact that every day is different, you’re outside and you get to help people. I knew I wanted to find a job that mattered, I had lived and breathed sport and I wanted to find something I could be that passionate about again – and this time it’s policing.”

The PCDA is one of the three routes approved by the College of Policing as part of the Policing Education Qualifications Framework in order to become a police officer. It allows entrants to receive practical, on- the- job learning, alongside academic theory while earning a wage. Passing the programme results in the award of a professional policing practice degree. Ms Summerhayes had not been skiing for nearly two years, but since joining the force she has put her ski boots back on. She added: “I did lose the love for skiing a bit after giving up competing, but since starting my training I thought it might be time to turn that around too.”