EVEN from a young age he wanted to conquer the world of sailing.

But when Sir Ben Ainslie arrived at Peter Symonds College in 1993, aged 16, he still needed to complete his GCSE English qualification.

The four-time Olympic gold medal winner – now 38 – met his former English teacher Sandra Showell when she visited the star sailor in Portsmouth.

She gave him back the assignment which he completed as part of his course.

In the project, he stated that he wanted to, one day, win the America’s Cup and bring it back to English waters.

Sandra said: “It was lovely to meet Ben and to return his project, which I have been looking after for him. He has been a real inspiration to so many people with his Olympic medal successes and we have been proud to have been part of his journey. We wish him all the very best of luck for the 2016 America Cup Challenge.”