Three times Olympian, Chris Tomlinson, visited Stephen-son Way Academy and Nursery School last month to help the children raise money for ‘Sports for Schools’, a scheme which financially supports GB and Olympic athletes. Children of all ages took part in various sporting activities and challenges throughout the morning, for which they had been sponsored by family and friends. Chris, the British indoor Long Jump record holder, worked alongside the children, motivating them to complete a series of different circuits as quickly as possible. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed all the physical challenges and Chris reported that every child gave their very best effort, and that he was very impressed with excellent behaviour and attitude of all pupils. The children’s enthusiasm was summed up by one year 2 girl, who asked Chris ‘Can we please do this every day?’!
Once the physical activity was over, Chris held a School Assembly where he gave an inspirational talk about his experiences and achievements, and spoke about the ‘Sports for Schools’ project. Children were amazed to learn that over 350,000 pupils from over 1300 primary schools have participated in the scheme, where athletes and the schools benefit from money raised through the sponsored event. The scheme’s social mission is to ‘put physical health in children on a par with mental health and academic excellence’.
The Academy and Nursery School raised over £1300 in total, of which the school keeps 40% to spend on sports equipment. The school would like to thank Chris and the whole ‘Sports for Schools’ team organising the event, and to the children who did a brilliantly to raise so much money. The school will consult with their pupil council about how to best spend the money. More information about ‘Sports for Schools’ can be found on their website, sportsforschools.org.
