Dec 09/Jan 10 £2.75Sport and fitness for today’s youth

By Louise Cordell

PARENTS are suffering from a ‘realitygap’ when it comes to their children’sfitness levels, according to newresearch from the British HeartFoundation.

It found that although 71 per cent ofparents think that their children are‘active enough’, only 11 per cent areactually doing the recommended daily60 minutes of physical activity.

The findings have been released inthe charity’s new Couch Kids report,which highlights how crucial physicalactivity is in tackling childhood obesi-ty. It points out that while the numberof obese children has risen since themid 1990s, there have been no majorchanges in children’s activity levels.

Dr Mike Knapton, associate medicaldirector at the BHF, said: “Mums anddads need to take off the blinkersabout how active kids need to be inorder to keep their hearts healthy.

“Kids need to get moving more, yetwe’ve been standing still for the lastdecade. Children aren’t really any moreactive than they were ten years ago.”

The report also made a series of rec-ommendations to schools, suggestingways they can maximise the opportu-nities for children to keep activethrough the school day.

It suggests that teachers should

encourage kids to be physically activeat break times and that more opportu-nities should be provided outsidelessons through extended schools.

The report states: “School provisionshould explicitly recognise the diversi-ty of provision and approaches neededto ensure that physical activity reachesas many young people as possible. Inparticular schools must demonstratehow they are meeting the needs ofadolescent girls and the least activegroups.”

In its conclusions the report alsopraises the progress that has beenmade on developing schools travelplans in England, confirming that act-ive transport can contribute to a morephysically active profile across thewhole day. It is now being recom-mended that government in Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland shouldaim to replicate this success and settargets for their own schools to devel-op similar plans.

Peter Hollins, BHF chief executive,said: “While we shouldn’t underesti-mate the progress that has been madein some parts of the UK, such as theincrease in PE hours taught in Englishschools, we need to move decisivelyand quickly to ensure that the currentgeneration have the best chance oflong and healthy lives.”

Parents suffer‘reality gap’ on kids’ fitness

Teen girls‘skippingmealsregularly’TEENAGE girls areregularly skipping upto two meals a daybecause they thinkthey are overweight,according to a surveyfrom the SchoolsHealth EducationUnit.

The poll showed thata quarter of girls aged14 and 15 miss breakfast, 22 per centdon’t eat lunch andone in ten of themoften go without bothmeals.

It revealed that mostteenage girls believethat they are tooheavy, even when theyare actually a healthyweight or even under-weight.

More surprisingly,40 per cent of youngergirls, aged ten and 11, also thought they needed to loseweight.

The report is basedon answers from over 32,000 youngpeople between theages of ten and 15from 361 schoolsacross the UK.

Lennox Lewis appeared at the 28th CommonwealthSports Awards to support the achievement of youngathletes from around the world. The awards aim tohonour the achievements of sportsmen and womenand to encourage young people to aspire to greaterheights. Winners included Usain Bolt and StephanieRice for Outstanding Male and Female Athlete andSir Christopher Chataway was presented with aLifetime Achievement Award. The 18-year-oldManueli Tulo of Fiji was named Outstanding YoungAchiever for his achievements in weightlifting andhis plans to compete in the 2010 Delhi Common-wealth Games and the 2011 Pacific Games in NewCaledonia.

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Contacts www.futurefitness.uk.net

Table tennis schemeheaded up by British number twoBy Louise Cordell

A NEW school sports programme hasbeen launched in South Yorkshire togive pupils the opportunity to learntable tennis skills from some of thecountry’s top coaches and players.

The English Table TennisAssociation is running coaching ses-sions for school children as part ofthe PE curriculum from its base atthe English Institute of Sport inSheffield.

The scheme is being headed up by2012 medal hopeful, and Britishnumber two, Darius Knight and hisdoubles partner and current Britishnumber one Paul Drinkhall.

Darius plays for Great Britain on theITTF World Pro Tour, competes in theSpanish Superleague and is the threetimes national under-21 champion.

He will lead the school sessions,supported by top ETTA coaches,teaching students key skills and tech-niques and passing on his tips andadvice.

Darius said: “I first started playingtable tennis in London when I was

nine and at that time there were veryfew opportunities to get into thesport.

“But in the last few years table ten-nis has really taken off and is nowone of the fastest growing sports inthe country and through these newcoaching sessions I am hoping toinspire even more young kids inSouth Yorkshire to start playing.”

It is hoped that the new programmewill not only encourage more youngpeople to take up the sport, but alsohelp to talent spot any new hopefuls,who could play at higher levels in thefuture.

Jayne Naylor, programming anddevelopment manager at EISSheffield, said: “This is a uniqueopportunity for school children tolearn one of the fastest growingsports under the guidance of some ofthe top coaches in the world andalongside the best players in thecountry.

“Darius is a superb player and alsoa great role model for the young-sters.” Darius Knight

EquipmentcampaignlaunchedA NEW campaign has beenlaunched to give schools thechance to receive a range ofsports equipment.

Triple Olympian SteveBackley is backing the scheme,which is a joint initiative from Childsure and Aviva,aimed at bringing parentsaffordable private medicalinsurance.

Schools will be able to register for the sports equip-ment they need, then when aparent purchases a policy from Childsure, the school willreceive £15 of vouchers tospend at equipment providerDavies Sports.

One policy will allow a schoolto buy, for example, four footballs, 48 tennis balls or 11foam javelins.

There is no limit to theamount of vouchers school’scan receive to spend on sportsequipment and they have until July 2011 to collect andsave.

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‘Exciting breakactivities couldmake an impact’ By Louise Cordell

OFFERING a variety of exciting, out-door break time activities could helpschools make a significant impact onchildhood activity and self esteem,according to a new study.

Researchers from the University ofEssex have found that where basicsports equipment was introduced attwo Colchester primary schools dur-ing break times, activity levelsincreased and if orienteering sessionswere offered self esteem and activitylevels received a boost.

They have concluded that by mak-ing playtime more interesting, risingchildhood inactivity and obesity lev-els could be reversed.

Dr Caroline Angus, who led theHeart Research UK-funded study,said: “Our findings suggest that play-time provides a significant andimportant opportunity to increasephysical activity levels in young chil-dren and the type of activity offeredcan influence both the amount oftime spent doing exercise and self-esteem.

“One of the most interesting find-ings was that although the introduc-tion of sports equipment increasedactivity, it did so most significantly inthose children who already had high-er fitness levels, suggesting less fitchildren were choosing to engage lesswith the equipment, perhaps because

of less well developed motor skills. “It is therefore crucial that a wide

range of activities be offered in orderto increase the engagement of allchildren.”

The study involved more than 50Year Four pupils from one urbanschool and one in a rural environ-ment: Willow Brook Primary inColchester and LangenhoeCommunity Primary School.

The research team introduced threeintervention programmes for one-week each: the provision of outdoorclothing to maximise outdoor playduring the winter months; the intro-duction of sports equipment (such asFrisbees, hula hoops and skippingropes) to improve cardio-respiratoryfitness and motor skills; and orien-teering to increase the use of greenspace.

Dr Angus added: ‘In the UK, over 14per cent of children are already over-weight or obese when they leave pri-mary school and this figure is expect-ed to rise. Our study has shown thatthere are simple, easily introducedplaytime activities that can increasethe amount and intensity of physicalactivity undertaken by children whichcan positively influence psychologicalwell-being. It is essential that moreeffective strategies, and a multi-faceted approach be utilised in orderto address the linked problems ofobesity and sedentary behaviour.”

A FORMER PE teacher has beennamed Coach of the Year at theSports Council for Wales’ annualawards.

Paul John, Welsh Rugby Sevenscoach, was also given the prize forHigh Performance Coach of the Yearat the ceremony at Cardiff’s WelshInstitute of Sport.

He was recognised for his contribu-tion to rugby in Wales over the past12 months after he became the firstWelsh coach to lead a team to WorldCup victory in any sport.

Paul was nominated by JohnSchropfer, WRU national coachdevelopment manager, who said:“Paul’s attributes make him an idealrole model for the young playersaspiring to become professional play-ers. His empowering style of coachinghas seen his charges develop consid-erably this last year.

“He is the first Welsh rugby coachwho can say that he has won theWorld Cup for Sevens. This was anincredible achievement.”

Philip Carling, chair of the SportsCouncil for Wales, added: “Paul Johnhas made a massive contribution toWelsh sport, in particular, rugby andwe have certainly enjoyed the fruitsof his labour this year with a WorldCup victory.

“Good coaches inspire, motivate

and encourage and it’s vital that werecognise their work.

“The awards also demonstrate thatcoaches at local level are just as vitalas those who work with elite athletes.

“It is their industrious contributionthat encourages youngsters intosport, keeps them motivated andactive at a young age and instils thecore values of hard work, accounta-bility, belief and – above all – enjoy-ment.”

Paul John

Rugby coach Paul’s ‘massivecontribution to Welsh sport’ recognised by award

Football starts take equalitymessage into schoolsPUPILS at Highgate School havereceived a visit from a series of foot-balling stars while taking part in theKick It Out – One Game OneCommunity action week.

The football equality and inclusioncampaign teamed up withYoungMinds, an organisation whichsupports young people’s mentalhealth and well being, for an eventlooking at ways to tackle discrimina-tion and the stigma around mentalhealth problems.

Arsenal legend Paul Davis andEngland Women’s striker LianneSanderson joined members of Kick ItOut, the PFA and YoungMinds for aquestion and answer session with thepupils.

Paul, who made over 500 appear-ances for the Gunners, said:“Discrimination comes in differentforms. Sometimes prejudices aren’tjust about skin colour.

“I’m delighted to be involved in anevent that will help address thesequestions and football is a great toolto do this.”

Lucie Russell, YoungMinds directorof campaigns, added: “Stigma aboutmental health problems is veryingrained in society and thereforegetting the footballing community onside to challenge it and raise aware-ness about the importance of sport inkeeping young peoples mindshealthy is a fantastic partnership forus.”

£175k refurbishment unveiledOXFORD Brookes University’sCentre for Sport has unveiled ahuge £175,000 refurbishment of itsgym and climbing wall.

The gym and wall at theHeadington sports centre havebeen completely overhauled inwhat has been the biggest revampin the building’s history. Climbingwall Rock Solid has seen a £100,000rebuild and extension to make it 50per cent bigger and a further

£50,000 has been spent replacing27 machines in the gym’s healthand fitness suite with state of theart kit.

Keith Kelly, director of sport at theuniversity, said: “With this upgradeof the gym and climbing wall, weare offering some of the best sportsfacilities in the region. The gym hasworld-class equipment now andthe climbing wall is as good as anyin the south of England.”

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Youngsters mostlikely to use pills or hypnosisBy Louise Cordell

YOUNG people in Britain are turningto extreme methods to fight the flabaccording to new research.

A study has shown that those intheir teens and early twenties aremost likely to turn to hypnosis or pillsto beat obesity than any other agegroup.

The YouGov figures showed that 34per cent would take weight loss pillsand one quarter would resort to hyp-nosis if they felt they were over-weight.

The research was commissioned bythe British Society ofGastroenterology and aimed touncover young people’s attitudestowards obesity and the associatedrisks.

It showed that most are unaware ofmany of the health issues being over-weight can cause with 59 per centunaware of the link with infertilityand less than a third aware it couldcause cancer of the colon.

Professor Chris Hawkey, presidentof the BSG, said: “Obesity is a hugeproblem facing Britain with predic-

tions showing it is only going to getworse.

“But this is the first time that wehave looked at young people’s atti-tudes to this serious health issue.

“If they aren’t even aware of obesi-ty’s wider health implications such asGI cancer, then they are never goingto change their behavioural habits.

“For young people, as a group thatis most at risk, obesity is an issue thatneeds tackling in a serious mannerbefore health issues turn into a pan-demic costing our country a fortuneand placing enormous pressure onthe health service.”

The results were published as partof National Obesity Week, in order toget people to recognise that beingoverweight is a health issue and notjust about the way you look.

Professor David Haslam, chairmanand clinical director of the NationalObesity Forum, said: “We have a timebomb here which has been buildingup gradually for a long time and I’mafraid we haven’t seen the worst of it.

“With a third of children in Englandeither overweight or obese, we needto take more serious action now.”

THE third contact rugby competitionheld by the Five Towns school sportpartnership has been a success.

Eight teams took part in the primaryschool, nine-a-side event, held atFeatherstone Rovers, after schoolsacross the district had been invited totake part. The aim of the competitionis to provide a forum for young rugbyplayers to represent their school, witha combination of all-boys and mixed-sex teams playing.

The schools involved were AiredaleJunior, Castleford Park Junior, HeathView, North Featherstone, Redhill

Junior, St Peter’s, St Thomas andSmawthorne Henry Moore.

Paul Ogilvie, partnership develop-ment manager, said: “SmawthorneHenry Moore, with a 16-8 victory,were our well-deserved champions.There was also a Player of Steelaward, voted for by teachers and thewinner was Levi Johnson of StThomas, Featherstone for his deter-mination, strength and good attitude.

“We particularly appreciated all thehelp from the teachers, coaches andparents, who supported their teamsin the true spirit of school sport.”

Schols’ rugby competitionproves a winner

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THE focus of the Healthy TownProgramme in Sheffield, nowrenamed Let’s Change4Life, is to dis-cover the best ways of preventingchildhood obesity.

Its aim is to find out how to create ageneration of kids who will not haveto face the wide range of health prob-lems caused by the country’s growingweight problems.

Carol Weir, the Let’s Change4Lifeproject director, said: “We are tryingto look at everything from the indi-vidual to the infrastructure of thetown itself, using a multi-prongedapproach to create a cultural shift.

“We want to make it the norm forpeople to lead healthy and activelifestyles but this means raising thebaseline for everyone.

“It is not enough to just tell peopleto be healthier, especially children,you have to look at all the barriersthat are stopping them and try andaddress those.”

The programme is set to continueuntil March 2011 and encompassesprojects looking at almost everyaspect of obesity prevention.

Plans are in place to make Sheffield

a breastfeeding friendly city, asresearch has shown that breastfedchildren are less likely to becomeobese and to improve the local greenspaces to encourage health and fit-ness in the community.

Parents are being encouraged to eatbetter and get active so their childrencan follow positive examples andlocal volunteers are being trained upto make sure that all young peoplehave access to a variety of healthyactivities.

Planning applications are underreview to ensure health and commu-nity friendly developments andschools are also receiving support toreach their fitness targets.

Carol added: “We have had a fantas-tic response from schools because weare presenting them with a list ofoptions that they can use to helpmeet their targets and helping themout with funding as well.

“It is all about finding ways to getthe kids active without them realisingby keeping things fun.

“Our aim is to work with eachschool individually because each oneis different and it is the teachers,

pupils and parents who know whatwill work best for them.”

Projects already underway inschools include a free fruit schemefor all 5,629 year seven pupils inSheffield and a Bike It programme toencourage 16,000 young people in 50schools to cycle to and from school.

The programme is also working tomake sure that all children andyoung people take part in at least onehour of physical activity each day.

Carol added: “Making changes isgoing to take time and we need thekids themselves and teachers andparents to get involved and tell uswhat they think will be helpful.

“By the time the project ends, wehope to have a much better idea ofwhat works, what doesn’t and why,when it comes to obesity prevention.

“We are in a challenging time eco-nomically and politically so this kindof evidence will be invaluable in thefuture.

“Childhood obesity isn’t going awayand is only going to get worse if itisn’t addressed, so it needs a bigresponse with action across all sec-tors.”

Last year Sheffield became one of nine areas across the country to be awarded £5m funding for the Healthy TownsProgramme. This was matched locally to create a £10m project aimed at tackling rising levels of obesity in childrenand families. Future Fitness found out more:

Carol Weir

‘We want to make it the norm for peopleto lead healthy and active lifestyles’

School meals up by 149,340THE Let’s Change4Life programme istackling healthy eating as well asexercise, and so far has increasedschool meal uptake by 149,340 mealsserved.

It has also established growing andcookery clubs in 174 schools and issupporting 50 of these in selling theirhealthy produce to the community.

However, Carol, who also representsthe British Dietetic Association on theSchool Meals Review Panel, pointsout that there is still a lot of work todo.

She said: “The battle is not won by

any means, increasing school mealtake up is still a big part of our plan.

“I think we have now reached thepoint where school meals are a veryhealthy option, but they still sufferfrom a negative portrayal.

“There are a lot of caterers who areworking very had to produce nutri-tional, tasty food, but people aren’tgiving it a chance.

“I think we need to be asking peopleexactly when the last time they tried aschool dinner was, and encouragingthem to give the new versions achance and see the difference.”

New sports coach directory launchedA NEW directory for qualifiedsports coaches and leaders in Derbyshire has been created to help meet the expected surge in interest as the 2012 Olympic Games get closer.

The Derbyshire Sport CoachDatabase, run by CoachingDerbyshire, has been establishedso that coaches and leaders acrossthe county can register theirdetails and availability for coach-ing sessions – both paid and vol-untary.

Coaching Derbyshire is now urg-ing coaches of all sports and activ-ities to register on the database,which will also be used to helpassess the future training needs oflocal coaches.

Allison Nolan, CoachingDerbyshire co-ordinator, said: “Weaim to have 500 coaches registered

on the database by April 2010, andonce we have done this we canbegin to really make a differenceby offering them the support theyneed.

“Organisations across Derbyshirewill be better placed to offer train-ing and personal developmentopportunities, as coaches can usethe database to tell us what theywant.

“It will also help to put coachesin touch with people and organisa-tions across the county who arelooking for coaches to supporttheir club, school, communitygroup or team.”

Coaches on the database willreceive regular e-newsletters withinformation and updates oncourses, opportunities for paid or voluntary work, and otherevents.

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SIX schools around the UK have beennamed winners in a national dance competition and rewardedwith a visit from Strictly ComeDancing judge, Craig Revel Horwood.

The schools entered the BoneFactor Tour, a nationwide contestfrom the National OsteoporosisSociety, created to help kids ‘Boogiefor their Bones’.

The winners were selected for theunique and creative dances, as wellas their understanding of the impor-tance of exercise and diet for main-taining bone health.

Craig said: “I’ve teamed up with theNational Osteoporosis Societybecause dance is a great form ofexercise for building stronger bonesand a fun way to teach children theimportance of keeping their boneshealthy from a young age.”

On the tour, pupils performed theirwinning dance for Craig, who thentaught them some of his own movesincluding ‘the funky chicken’, ‘the Beyoncé’ and ‘Thriller’, which he choreographed for the charity’s ‘Boogie for your Bones’dance plan.

They also took part in a fun nutri-tion session, the Bone Healthy Café,to learn about the importance of abalanced, calcium rich diet for build-ing stronger bones.

Dr Claire Bowring of the NationalOsteoporosis Society said: “Bonesstop growing in length between theages of 16 and 18, and peak bonedensity is reached in our mid 20s.

“Regular weight-bearing exercisewhen we are young, like dancing,combined with a healthy diet meansthat we can build stronger bones atthis crucial time to support us as weget older.

“Healthy lifestyles at any age canhelp maintain our bones but by tar-geting children we are making bigsteps early on to prevent potentially

disabling bone problems, like osteo-porosis, in later life.”

The winning schools were EastburnJunior and Infant School, WestYorkshire; Llanfair Primary School,Wales; Maryland Primary, Stratford;St. Clement Danes Primary School,London; St Louis Middle School,Suffolk and Earlston Primary School,Scotland.

Winning schools step up to the mark

The Bone Factor tour’s visit to Eastburn Junior and Infant School in Keighley, WestYorkshire

New collegesupports Helpthe Heroes appealA NEW college offering sportsand nutrition therapy coursesin Leatherhead has opened itsdoors this month at a jointevent with Help for Heroes.

Paragon College held twoopen days and donated £1 forevery person who visited,encouraging locals to take alook at the courses on offer.

People will be able to sign upfor a wide range of specialistcourses from two hour semi-nars and weekend workshops topart time diplomas over one ortwo years.

Caroline Theobald, director,said: “As people are becomingmore aware of the importanceof fitness and a healthy lifestyle,our courses fill a demand formore accessible learning.

“From the New Year we areoffering accredited diplomas inSports or Nutritional Therapyfor people who wish to changetheir career and join these pro-fessions.

“Qualification ensures indi-viduals can practice as compe-tent therapists.”

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PERSONAL trainer Dan Fletcher is‘Creating Chaos’ in schools with hisnew, pupil friendly fitness pro-gramme.

He joined the personal trainingcompany Creating Chaos, which runsoutdoor group training sessions, fol-lowing a degree in sports studies andphysical education.

However, his main interest wasalways youth fitness and he gained aseries of coaching awards to help hiswork in this area.

He said: “I was always interested inteaching children and while I was atuniversity I completed placements invarious schools and youth groups.

“Once I had started working withthe personal training company, Icontinued to coach rugby and foot-

ball in local schools to gaining expe-rience.”

Dan came up with the idea of tak-ing his expertise into schools, deliver-ing a combination of one off visitsand 12 week programmes to get kidsexcited about health and fitness.

He has created an educational syl-labus that can be delivered to keystage three upwards, covering exer-cise, nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

He added: “When we go intoschools we do lots of active things,but we also try to exercise kids aboutwhy keeping fit is good for them,because they are always being toldthat, but the reasons behind it arenot always explained.

“If they understand why they arebeing asked to do something, then

there is more chance that they willwant to take part rather than havingto be forced to - and then it is muchmore likely that they will keep it up.”

So far he has taken ‘Creating Chaos’into secondary schools for pupils inyears seven to nine, but he believesthat the programme could easily beadapted to suit younger children aswell.

The aim is to provide the specialistknowledge that teachers may nothave and help pupils get the most upto date and accurate advice.

Dan added: “I don’t think the statis-tics lie, obesity is increasing, espe-cially among under 18s - so this is thetime when they need to be targetedand need to get enthused aboutbeing active.

“So I think that schools need to dowhatever they can to make that hap-pen, but pupils also need to take theinitiative themselves and be motivat-ed to learn, especially if the habit isgoing to last.”

He is currently introducing the pro-gramme to schools in West and NorthYorkshire, however eventually heaims to roll out the scheme acrossthe country. This is part of his goal toget the healthy living message out toas many people as possible.

He added: “We want to get everyoneinvolved - for example we are hopingto introduce sessions for parents tocorrespond with our school visits.

“I think this will be beneficialbecause it will allow whole families towork together.”

Creating chaos in the classroom

HEALTH Matters Education hasannounced a new partnershipwith Sports Xtra with the aim ofdelivering Health Focus Dayevents in schools around thecountry.

A three month pilot is beinglaunched, utilising professionalcoaches to help get childrenactive.

Vicky Bowen of Health MattersEducation said: “We are extremelyexcited about working with SportXtra and their team of coaches.

“We have received many

requests from individual schoolsnationally to support them withthe delivery of our Health FocusDays and it is paramount to us allthat our selected tutors are pas-sionate about children's healthand well-being and that they havethe skills to engage all.

“We believe the initial pilot willextend as a long term partnershipand will therefore help us toensure that every school has theopportunity to participate in whatwe do.”

Pro coaches draftedin for pilot scheme

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ROB Vaughan works as partnershipdevelopment manager for St HelensCouncil’s School Sports Partnershipand has been teaming up with localsports clubs and health care profes-sionals to help local young peoplechange their lives.

Since 2003 the partnership has beenrunning two programmes specificallytargeted at vulnerable groups of keystage three boys and girls, who are atrisk of disengaging with school.

Rob said: “This age group can be atime when young people drop out ofsport and fitness, so we wanted to dosomething different to get them moti-vated about a healthy lifestyle.

“There are separate programmes forboys and girls due to the differentapproach needed but we have seenhuge improvements in attitude andachievements across the board.”

The girl’s Sport, Health andEducation (SHE) programme takes on72 pupils from two schools each year.

They are selected by staff and mustmeet certain criteria, for examplethose who don’t participate in PE oractivities in school or those who have

trouble interacting with their peers. The course is split into three blocks

of five weeks and activities includeboxercise, street dance and gym ses-sions as well as healthy eating andhair and beauty lessons.

All the girls who manage an 85 percent attendance over the 20 weeksare then taken to an outwardsbounds centre for a long activityweekend.

Rob added: “The approach to get-ting more girls involved in sport usedto just be a case of putting on morenetball sessions – but we knew thiswasn’t the way to engage the pupilswe were targeting and that we neededa new approach. This programme hashelped a lot of girls, because it’s notabout getting them onto the schoolteams, it’s jut about helping them tohave a healthy lifestyle – and formany it has positively affected a lot ofother parts of their life.”

The boy’s programme takes a differ-ent approach, with pupils attending afive-day course over five weeks.

Each year 75 pupils from five

schools attend, including many fromlocal EBD and PMLD schools.

They spend two days at St HelensRugby League Football Club takingpart in PE activities and sessions ondiet, relationships and drug educa-tion, two days taking part in outdoorpursuits including raft building,archery and assault courses and afinal day completing the Junior RugbyLeague Leaders Awards.

Rob added: “We want to motivatethese lads to achieve their potential –the kind of recognition the boys getfor completing the course is a bigdeal for someone who has spent mostof the time being in trouble.

“I think success comes down to pro-viding the right support for the pupilsin that particular area.

“For example, an early link up withEverton FC was not as popular as therugby sessions, because St Helens istraditionally a rugby town. But morethan anything it is a team approach,with organisations all linking up toprovide their own areas of expertise,that gets results.”

Pupils at risk of exclusion in St Helen’s are having their lives turned around by sport thanks to the efforts of theirSchool Sports Partnership and Healthy Schools. Future Fitness found out more.

Sport turning livesaround in St Helen’s

A 14-year-old, year nine boy fromPenkford EBD School successfullycompleted the course.

His school said: “This boy’s behav-iour profile was one of verbal andphysical aggression to other studentsand staff.

“Academically he was under achiev-ing due to his behaviour, lack of selfesteem and long periods of absencefrom school. He expressed that he didlike sport but had not been able totake part in his previous schoolsbecause, overweight and self-con-scious, he had always refused to getchanged into his sports kit.

“At Penkford he was allowed to takepart in PE in his school uniform ini-tially as a motivator and quicklydemonstrated that he had good allround ability.

“The Motivational Sport Programmeearly the following term was to be thespringboard for his success at school.

“He joined the programme andquickly became a leader, giving 100per cent effort in every aspect of thecourse.

“He was then invited to attend apresentation evening at Saints RLClub and make a speech about him-self and what he had gained from thecourse. All present were extremelyimpressed with the level of maturityhe demonstrated and recognisedwhat he must have overcome to beable to speak at this level in front ofsuch a large audience.

“The following two years saw himreach his full potential.

“He became a key player and cap-tain of the school football team, chairof the School Council and a memberof St. Helens Youth Council, which herepresented on a visit to theEuropean Parliament in Brussels.

“He also successfully gained sixGCSEs, including PE.”

A 14-year-old, year nine girl from StCuthberts RC College for Businessand Enterprise was offered a place onthe course in February 2009 at therequest of her Head of House.

The school said: “This course was astrategy to help the pupil with a number of personal and socialissues.

“She was a talented PE student, but,having attended the first few sessionsshe was then excluded from thecourse for not bringing her PE kitregularly and for receiving schooldetentions for various misde-meanours.

“She did not respond to staff in apositive way at this point andparental advice and encouragementwere minimal throughout.

“This pupil was then encouraged bythe other participants of the course,their opinions, photographs and gen-uine comments each week about theactivities.

“She was allowed back onto thecourse with certain conditions andwas also placed on behaviour andattitude report – remarkably thisworked. This pupil was no angel but completed the course and at PGL, thefirst time she had been away, shereally excelled – she was challengedand her natural abilities werestretched. This girl grew in confi-dence and she also, I think, realisedwhilst on the residential, that every-one is unique and has something tooffer.”

Case Study

Case Study

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THE UK’s first DigiWall climbingattraction has opened at TheWarehouse climbing centre inGloucester city centre.

The wall, installed by InnovativeLeisure, is a series of computergames played through a climbingwall interface. Each section features24 grips for hands and feet, whichincorporate a sensor and light whichare linked to a computer.

A surround sound system is anotherfeature and a variety of games withdifferent levels can be played byusers as they climb over the wall. Itaims to provide physically challeng-ing, computer based entertainmentfor a wide age range, in particular foryoungsters who might otherwise notget involved in physical activity.

Simon Baldwin, a director at TheWarehouse, said: “We were trying to

find something different to add to thecentre and felt it would be good forus to have the first DigiWall in theUK, particularly as we are a climbingcentre. I could see a number of extrabenefits when I first saw it and allages are using it, from five year oldsup to adults.”

Phil Pickergill, Innovative Leisure’smd, added: “We have noticed a defi-nite increase in the popularity ofclimbing attractions. A wide range oforganisations are installing them asalternatives to more traditionalgames and activities and finding thatclimbing provides a number of bene-fits for youngsters, not least the factthat some who may not get involvedin sport generally are trying it andrealising they can enjoy such activi-ties as part of their suggested fivehours a week of physical exercise.”

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DR MATT Capehorn, who runs theRotherham Institute for Obesity,believes that schools will never beable to provide the full amount ofexercise needed by children to keepfit and healthy, so instead theyshould be encouraging pupils totake up sport outside school.

He said: “Sporadic exercise ses-sions don’t help overweight chil-dren because they don’t burn manycalories.

“But high impact, hour-long ses-sions five or six days a week willincrease the metabolic rate andlead to weight loss.

“Time constraints on schoolsmean very few can supply this, so itis very important that they also usetheir time to educate pupils aboutthe benefits and motivate them toexercise in their own time.”

Dr Capehorn has been running achild obesity clinic at the institutesince April 2009 and has youngpeople from all over Rotherhamreferred there.

If they are just overweight, theymay be referred to a local Carnegieweight loss camp or education pro-gramme.

However, if they are very over-weight or obese, they will be seenby some of the institute’s experts

including exercise therapists, cog-nitive behavioural therapists, dieti-cians and nutritionists, who pro-vide help for both the children andtheir parents.

Dr Capehorn added: “Parents whocome to the clinic have a range ofresponses.

“Some genuinely didn’t knowthere was a problem and are keento do everything they can to tackleit.

“But some are very defensive andwill deny that there are any issuesto be addressed.

“The biggest culprit tends to beportion sizes rather than ‘bad’foods. There are a lot of parentswho are educated about nutritionand provide their children with ahealthy diet, but big platefuls thatprovide far too many calories.

“Another problem is that beingoverweight has become normalised- most people see healthy childrenas being underweight and in needof ‘feeding up’, and overweight chil-dren as a normal sized.

“This is why many people don’trealise there is a problem until ithas been developing for a longtime.”

The clinic is currently sevenmonths into a three year, NHS

funded programme. The aim is to see at least 100 chil-

dren each year, however althoughthere is a waiting list for the adultservices, fewer children have beengetting involved.

To address this, a leaflet advertis-ing campaign was set up askingparents to weigh and measure theirchildren and drop in for advice,which led to a jump in numbers.

Dr Capehorn added: “Parents andchildren who attend are full ofpraise for the clinic and the sup-port it offers as it is often the casethat they have not had access toany kind of help or advice before.

“Most of the kids make fantasticprogress and the vast majority ofthose who stay with the pro-gramme achieve their goals.

“The problem comes with thosewho lose motivation and drop outof the programme - this is currentlyaround 50 per cent of the kids, sowe are working on new methods ofkeeping them engaged.

“Parents and their kids also needto be aware that even if they arenot losing weight, it doesn’t meanthey aren’t making progress.

“As long as they can maintaintheir current weight, their BMI willimprove as they grow.

“So in many cases, maintaining isjust as important as losing and weneed to make people aware of thisso that they aren’t disheartened.”

Schools should be doing more to educate children about the benefits of exercise rather than concentrating onprovision according to a childhood obesity expert. Future Fitness found out more.

Dr Matt Capehorn

Pupils should be encouragedto exercise in their own time

Schools urged to build on measurement programmeDR Capehorn is calling on schoolsto build on the National ChildMeasurement Programme in orderto help more young people.

He would like to see regularheight and weight measurementstaken for all age groups – for exam-ple every year during NationalObesity Week – and for parents tobe properly informed of the find-

ings. He said: “Some schools takethe measurements and do nothingwith them and some send themhome to parents, but with no realexplanation of what the resultsmean.

“Another problem is that schoolsare not even allowed to use theword ‘obese’, instead the largestpupils are just described as ‘very

overweight’, which is creating afalse sense of security and couldmean that some children are notgetting the help they need.”

Dr Capehorn points out thatschool nurses and teachers are ableto refer pupils to clinics like his,simply by providing their measure-ments and parents’ contact details.

The clinic is then able to com-

plete a more detailed assessmentand provide the child with any sup-port they might need.

He added: “We are planning talksto schools in the area to make themaware of this and help them gainthe skills and confidence to makethe referrals. We hope this will leadto every child who needs helpreceiving it as soon as possible.”

City centre climbing attraction is UK first

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LASSWADE High School Centre inMidlothian has been named the UK’sFittest Secondary School.

The Scottish school came top in FitFor Sport’s 2009 Fitter SchoolsChallenge.

The mixed comprehensive hasaround 1250 pupils who all took partin the challenge which includes tak-ing up new activities and a range offitness assessments.

George Falconer, the school’s prin-cipal teacher of PE, said: “We are alarge community school with greatfacilities including playing fields anda double games hall and we are hometo the Midlothian School ofGymnastics.

“We have very enthusiastic staffwhich I think is invaluable for inspir-ing young people and we encourageall of our pupils to take part in some-thing.

“Like any school we find that it isthe teenage girls who are the mostchallenging to engage, but we try togive them a range of options, andthat way they are more likely to findsomething that they enjoy.”

As part of the award, the school waspresented with £10,000 worth ofsports equipment including 21 spin-

ner bikes, equipment for speed-bad-minton, Crazy Catch equipment anda set of Pyrex dishes to promotehealthy eating.

George added: “The new equipmentwill be particularly helpful.

“Schools face a lot of challengeswhen trying to provide better physi-cal education.

“The curriculum is constantlychanging and I think that the benefitsof sport can be pushed to one side.

“But it is important in its own rightfor many reasons, from health andfitness to team building, social skillsand personal development.

“I think PE teachers need to workwith their heads and local authoritiesto make sure that our goals are keptin mind – they can be achieved ifeveryone works together.”

Over the last year the school hasalso introduced a range of differentclasses including cheerleading, judo and hip hop to attract newpupils.

However, it also plans to keep pro-viding all the traditional games,because so many pupils still enjoythe team sports.

George added: “What is in fashionchanges all the time – what might be

very popular with one year groupswill not interest the next year at all –so schools have to adapt and com-municate with their pupils to keepup.

“Kids are under a lot of pressure

these days and I really admire thosewho have the discipline to commit totheir sports.

“These are the role models in ourschool and I think they set a greatexample.”

Staff and pupils from Lasswade HSC accepting their award

Scottish school namedthe fittest in the land

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Bar raised withnew ‘five-hour’benchmarkBy Louise Cordell

A NEW ‘five-hour offer’ benchmarkfor youth sport has been set by theGovernment, following the publica-tion of its latest PE and Sport Survey.

This is the sixth survey that hasbeen carried out and the first sincethe target for five to 16-year-olds todo at least two hours of sport eachweek was reached last year.

Iain Wright, minister for children,schools and families, said: “We areraising the bar on youth sport in thiscountry in the run-up to the 2012Olympics.

“School and youth sport has neverbeen so well-funded or enjoyed byyoung people – but we are not goingto stop there. We want even morechildren to join in across the country.

“We are aiming high for our youngpeople because they deserve nothingless – setting our sights on five hours’sport each week.”

The survey reveals that over half ofpupils take part in at least threehours’ sport in a typical week andthat schools now provide an averageof 18.6 different sports, includingfootball, dance, athletics, badminton

and volleyball. It also showed that 99 per cent of

schools held at least one sports day,every school has links to an averageof 8.2 sports clubs and 44 per cent ofpupils participated in inter-schoolcompetitions during the academicyear.

Finally, Britain’s success in cycling atthe Beijing Olympics has resulted in asurge of interest in the sport, withhalf of all schools offering it to pupils– up from just 21 per cent in 2003.

Steve Grainger, Youth Sport Trustchief executive, said: “It is fantasticnews that more young people areparticipating in PE and sport.

“Typically schools now offer animpressive 18 sports for pupils to takepart in and I think it’s no coincidencethat on that back of Team GBs suc-cess in Beijing that cycling is thesport that is rapidly growing in ourschools. With London 2012 on thehorizon, the Youth Sport Trust willremain focused on ensuring that PEand school sport engages all youngpeople and that we continue to pro-vide more opportunities to partici-pate, compete, lead and volunteer insport.”

A pupil from the Ellesmere College Cricket Academy has been named North EastWales Young Player of the Year. Dewi Jones joined the School in year ten as a dayboy and was previously a pupil of Ysgol Morgan Llwyd School in Wrexham.He plays for for Brymbo Cricket Club and is also an Ellesmere College CricketAcademy Scholar. Dewi is a successful batsman, with a high score of 63, andrepresents North East Wales at county level and Wales at national level. Rod Jones,Cricket Academy director, said: “We are delighted that Dewi has joined the schooland we look forward to helping him further develop his cricket talent.”

The University of Leeds is investing in anew, on-campus state-of-the-art swimmingpool and 200-station gym.The 25m, eight-lane pool will be the centre-piece of the university’s new £12.2m fit-ness complex, which will be one of thelargest of any UK university and is expect-ed to be open by summer 2010.Richard Handscombe, head of sales andmarketing for the university’s conference

facilities, said: “The new sports facilitiesare going to be fabulous, probably thebest of any university in the country andcertainly up there with the top privategyms. The pool includes a partially move-able floor to create depths of up to twometres, providing a facility for casualswimmers as well as for water-basedsports such as water polo, canoe polo andsub-aqua.”

System will ‘stop students getting bored’THE soon-to-open Surrey SportsPark at the University of Surrey hasused the Life Fitness Journey systemto stop students getting bored andincrease the longevity of their exercise sessions.

A low-level circuit area has alsobeen installed, designed for 30-minute workouts, as studies suggestthat a short burst of activity such asinterval training is the best kind ofexercise to boost brain power.

Rob Jones, development managerat Life Fitness said the company ispassionate about encouraging students to exercise, but attractingthem away from the pub and intothe gym is one of their biggest challenges. He added: “The correctproduct mix and layout is veryimportant as students often want tobe able to pop in for quick gym sessions in between lectures and getbored quickly.”

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Fatty food at fitnessfacilities criticisedBy Mary Ferguson

FITNESS facilities that sell fatty foodto youngsters have been slammed ina controversial new report thatclaims they are undermining the fightagainst childhood obesity.

A Fit Choice, published by theBritish Heart Foundation (BHF),blames a lack of regulation for allow-ing leisure centres to sell kidsunhealthy food in cafes and vendingmachines – which cannot be adver-tised on children’s TV or sold inschool vending machines.

Researchers visited a variety ofplaces that help children get active,including leisure centres, ice rinks,and bowling alleys.

Key findings from the reportinclude:� Vending machines dominate ven-ues � Junk food meal deals monopolisechildren’s menus � There is a lack of nutritional infor-mation, with just two of the venuesvisited displaying fat and calorie con-tent of meals and snacks.

Peter Hollins, chief executive of theBHF, said: “The average calorie con-tent of the 21 vending machinesnacks found most frequently was203 calories. A seven-year-old wouldneed to do a staggering 88 minutes of

swimming to use that up.“It’s fantastic that these kids are get-

ting fit and having fun at the sametime but this is being undermined byvenues peddling junk food at them.

“Councils and leisure providersneed to rigorously reconsider thefood options they are providing andmake it easier for parents and children to make healthier choices.”

However, the Fitness IndustryAssociation (FIA) has criticised thereasons behind the report – brandingit a ‘publicity stunt’.

The findings appeared in a nationalnewspaper before being sent to theassociation, angering COO DavidStalker.

He added: “The FIA welcomes theBHF report, its findings and the factthat we have to review what we offervisitors to our facilities.

“However, we question the motiva-tion behind the research.

“We would welcome the opportuni-ty to work with the BHF directly, butnot through the columns of nationalnewspapers.”

£10k donationwill lead tofree coursesSPORTS Leaders UK has received a£10,000 donation to help fund morethan 100 new outreach centres andmore community partnership projects.

The contribution from the GarfieldWeston Foundation will pay forsports leadership training centres indisadvantaged communities which will provide open access to arange of Sports Leaders UK qualifica-tions.

Linda Plowright, Sports Leaders UKchief executive, said: “This is a majorboost to the newly formed SportsLeaders UK Foundation.

“It will enable us to reach thoseyoung people that cannot currentlyaccess our training and qualifications, particularly thosefrom the most disadvantaged backgrounds with the fewest lifechances.

“We will be able to provide freecourses so that they can experiencethe benefits of the training, achievenationally recognised qualifications,and embark on a pathway to a posi-tive life.”

If you’ve got a story for FutureFitness give Louise Cordell a ring

on 01226 734694 or email: lcordell@whpl.net

15 CYQ 10/12/09 09:53 Page 1

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By Louise Cordell

THE Cedars School Sport College inNewcastle has been recognised forthe quality of its disabled sport pro-vision.

The college, which teaches youngpeople aged four to 16 with a rangeof special educational needs, wonthis year’s Telegraph School SportMatters Award for Excellence inDisabled Sport.

The school coordinates a disabilitymulti sport club, the GatesheadKestrels, for disabled pupils frommainstream and special schoolsacross the borough and its mem-bers have achieved success in awide range of sports at a local andnational level.

Liz Neale, the school’s director ofspecialism, said: “Sport is a big partof school life for us.

“We follow the national curricu-lum to the level of ability that we areable to within the school and it isfully inclusive so every pupil is ableto take part.

“We have at least three hours of PEevery week during school time andwe operate after school activityclubs for two hours, five nights aweek for our own pupils and dis-abled students from other localschools.”

Members of the GatesheadKestrels have recently participatedin the Disability Sport Events

National Mini Games and wonawards for Team of theChampionship and Female Athleteof the Championship.

Others qualified to compete inswimming, athletics and boccia atthe National DSE Championshipsand received gold, silver and bronzemedals.

Two swimmers were also identi-fied by British Swimming as poten-tial 2012 Paralympic hopefuls, andone is now training on the ‘WorldClass Potential Programme’.

Liz added: “We were able to buildan inclusive fitness suite on siteafter we achieved specialist sportsstatus two years ago – and we are one of only a handful of spe-cial needs schools in the UK to doso.

“That has been very helpful, butwe don’t have a huge amount ofother facilities on site, just a sportshall that is not really large enoughfor team sports.

“So we make use of what is avail-able at our partnership schools andlocal clubs.”

The Cedars is also the only SENschool to be selected by the YouthSport Trust for their SupportingTalented Athletes on the Road toSuccess programme.

To be involved in STARS, athletesare required to be in the top five percent nationally within their chosendiscipline; and at the Cedars there

are 15 students who qualify. Liz added: “I think the children

really benefit from the high level ofsport we provide, as well as theychances they are given to mix andmeet with other young people withdisabilities and play and compete

on equal terms.“We also use our experience to

identify talent and we are good atspotting skilled young people andputting them on performance path-ways so that they are able to achievemore.”

Quality wins college an award

Liz Neale with pupils Rebecca Morton and Stephanie Moore receiving the School SportMatters Award

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Support for youngathletes pursuingtheir sporting dreamsBy Louise Cordell

SPORT England and SportsAid havenamed 16 young athletes tipped forsuccess at the 2016 Olympic Games.

The ‘16 for 2016’ are all supportedby SportsAid, a charity which givesfinancial assistance to talentedyoungsters aged 12 to 18, to helpthem meet the costs of pursuing theirsporting dreams.

The rising stars were named asSport England announced that itwould be investing over half a millionpounds of Government funding inSportsAid over the next two years.

Sir Steve Redgrave, theGovernment’s new 2012 sports cham-pion, said; “Sport England’s fundingmeans more young people can lookforward to the same support fromSportsAid that helped me when I wasat the start of my career.

“We need to give these youngstersall the help we can to help themprogress onto elite programmes andfulfil their potential.”

Sport England’s support forSportsAid is part of its ‘excel’ strategic

outcome, which is focused on sup-porting emerging talent.

Over four years, the organisation isinvesting more than £100m in 35national governing bodies to helpthem develop programmes that willhelp gifted performers move on toelite programmes.

SportsAid’s chief executive, TimLawler, said: “The athletes we sup-port spend, on average, more than£5,000 per year on their sport – per-haps a modest calculation.

“SportsAid aims not only to relieve

some of the pressure that comes withfinancing their training and competi-tion costs but also to recognise theirachievements.

“Each athlete that we support has atruly inspirational story, one thatshould be shared.

“The 16 athletes we’ve tipped forsuccess are shining examples of this.

“The sheer determination, commit-ment and talent shown by them isoutstanding and SportsAid is glad totell their story and play its part inhelping them on their way.”

The SportsAid 16 for 2016 are:Jodie Williams, 15, Welwyn Garden City –Athletics.Eleanor Faulkner, 16, Sheffield –Swimming.Tin-Tin Ho, 11, Westminster, London –Table Tennis.Zoe Smith, 15, Greenwich, London –Weightlifting.Jack Roughan, 16, Shrewsbury –Disability Athletics.Elliot Hanson, 15, Prestbury, Cheshire –Sailing.Savannah Marshall, 18, Hartlepool –

Boxing.Bethan Latham, 16, Keighley – CanoeSlalom.Hannah Barnes, 16, Towcester – Cycling.Constantine Louloudis, 18, Westminster– Rowing.Caitlin Chang, 16, Harrogate – Fencing.Chris Coles, 17, Clevedon – Badminton.George Lee, 14, Lewisham – Taekwondo.Levi Noel, 18, Luton – Basketball.Frank Baines, 14, Liverpool –Gymnastics.Erin Orford, 20, Radnage – ParaDressage.

Trainingprogrammegives rugbya try ...THE pre-school football training pro-gramme, Little Kickers, hasannounced a move into rugby train-ing.

The business has been runningsince 2002 and currently operatesthrough a network of over 90 fran-chisees in the UK, Ireland, SouthAfrica, Australia and Canada.

It has now announced the launch ofLittle Rugby, a sports class for chil-dren aged from two to five.

Christine Stanschus, companyCEO, said: “The Little Kickers ‘playnot push’ approach to football train-ing has proven a hit with parents andkids alike.

“It’s a great way for young children to get an introduction tosports, and with many parents look-ing for rugby courses, launchingLittle Rugby was a logical step for usto take.

“We feel that by offering a widerrange of classes, we can encourage even more children totake an interest in sport, and con-tribute towards their health and well-being.”

17 9/12/09 11:43 Page 1

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By Stephen Studd

QUALIFICATIONS divide opinion. Too easy, too difficult. Designed for

the educational elite, designed forthose who cannot cope with morechallenging qualifications.

I think it is fair to say that no matterwhat the qualification, how long ithas been around, how many employ-ers recognise and rate it, only onething is certain – it will be criticised.

You would think that having spentthe last three years developing one ofthe new Diplomas I would find itdemoralising or frustrating readingall the comments which haveattacked this new raft of qualifica-tions – and you would be right, atleast, at first.

A few weeks ago Baroness Vermacommented that diplomas are a‘back door’ route to qualificationsand she referred to them beingdesigned for young people whostruggled with GCSEs.

The following week however, theAssociation of Colleges claimed theyhad conducted research which foundthat diplomas are too difficult.

Having read and reviewed all thesecomments, I have come to the con-clusion that everyone is absolutelyright. Not perhaps in their specificview but in that a qualificationshould absolutely be debated for itsvalue, that its contribution towards

putting someone into work should bequestioned.

We are, after all, talking about peo-ple’s lives and their future livelihoods.

Diplomas have really been designedto embrace all these differences butalso to counter the issue of youngpeople emerging from school, collegeor university with a raft of academicqualifications but not actually ‘work-place ready’ in the eyes of an employ-er. The obvious answer to producinga qualification which solved thisproblem was to get employersinvolved with actually developing thecourse and its content.

The wonderful thing is that theemployers we have approached tobecome involved have been delightedto do so. They see the long-termpotential of the process so are pre-pared to lend us some of their valu-able time.

I think for everyone still inclined tocriticise the diploma or for that mat-ter any other qualification, I wouldask them to consider whether theytruly believe that diminishing theachievements of learners at such atime as this when jobs are increasing-ly difficult to come by is in any wayproductive.� Stephen Studd is chief executive ofSkillsActive, the Sector Skills Councilfor Active Leisure and Learning,which has developed a new Diplomain Sport and Active Leisure.

Is diminishing theachievements of learnersin any way productive?

Kids ‘walk to Minster’ in PEA GROUP of children from SouthKilvington CE School near Thirskhave been making the most of theirPE lessons by learning more abouthealthy living.

Pupils in years three and fourwere given pedometers by NaturalEngland and have been using thedevices to monitor steps taken dur-ing their PE sessions and playtimes.

After working out that roughly2,000 steps make a mile, they weregiven a set of maps showing theroute from their school to YorkMinster, just under 24 miles away.

Each step the children take is nowrecorded, converted into miles and

then added to the distance trav-elled on the map.

Jayne Shaw, teacher of years threeand four said: “I was delightedwhen we were given the pedome-ters and the children were headover heels when I gave them out,they were running around and try-ing to tot up as many steps as theycould.

“The activity is very inclusive, allchildren of all physical abilities arejoining in and it’s great for their selfesteem. What has really impressedme is the way they have stuck tothe task of walking to York Minster,they are determined to get there.”

AT City and Guilds we work hard tokeep up with the latest developmentsin the exercise and fitness industry solearners can develop the skills theywill need to start their career andimprove and gain new additionalskills and knowledge.

All our qualifications are developedin close consultation with the indus-try to ensure a comprehensive suiteof qualifications that can be deliveredor learned in any style.

We offer a range of exercise and fit-ness qualifications from levels one tothree including NVQs and vocationalqualifications.

Whether your candidates are start-ing out their careers at a local gym orleisure facility as an assistant instruc-tor or are advanced fitness instruc-

tors looking tobecome per-sonal trainers,we can pro-vide themwith a suitableand highlypractical qual-ification to reward and recognisetheir career progress.

As the UK’s leading provider ofvocational qualifications we arerecognised by employers worldwidefor providing the qualifications thatoffer proof of the skills needed to suc-ceed.

For more information please visit:www.cityandguilds.com/exercise or e-mail:

exercise@cityandguilds.com to arrange avisit to your centre.

UK’s leading provider of vocational qualifications

18 Filler 9/12/09 12:46 Page 1

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Primary school drafts in the experts for sports lessonsHOBBAYNE Primary School inHanwell is aiming to provide the bestsports lessons for its pupils by bring-ing in outside expertise.

The school employs Fit for Sport tocover its PE provision, with two spe-cialist instructors attending threedays a week to take the classes as wellas organising extra after-school andlunch clubs.

The aim is to make sure that pupilsreceive consistently high quality PEwhile teachers get their required noncontact time and the move has paidoff, with the school being namedFittest Primary School in this year’sFitter Schools Challenge.

Camilla said: “Sport has a high sta-tus at Hobbayne. Our pupils get a lotof opportunities to play sports andthis means that we don’t have muchof a problem with overweight orobese pupils because they all get thechance to stay fit. We also have goodlinks with our local sports college andtake the kids along to use their facili-ties. I think we are different to manyprimary schools in that we have a lotof commitment from staff who recog-nise the importance of sport – andnot all schools have that ethos.”

All sports at the school used to beplayed non-competitively, but lastyear a competitive element was

introduced. Teachers felt that pupilswere not being given enough chancesto shine in front of their peers andthis would give them that opportuni-ty.

Camilla added: “This has workedout well and has really encouragedenthusiasm for sport – we have had agreat response from kids and parentsalike and we now plan to continuethe scheme next year.

“We still do sports just for fun aswell, but kids enjoy the opportunityto get that recognition – for example,getting to stand up in assembly whentheir team wins.”

The school also delivers around 30

clubs each week, which are mostlyrun voluntarily by teachers. Pupils allget to take part in one or two of theirtop choices and most activities,including netball, football, hockey,yoga and Gaelic football, are provid-ed for free.

Camilla added: “Good sports provi-sion means that the kids are fitterand happier.

“They get so much enjoyment fromparticipating, they love being part ofa team and want to play against oth-ers.

“It also means that pupils get achance to be successful even if theyare not particularly academic.”

Arsene Wenger has attended the opening ofGreenhouse school TreeHouse’s NationalCentre for Autism Education in Muswell Hill,London.The Arsenal manager assisted multisportscoach Geza during a football exhibition whichshowed how Greenhouse uses football toteach young people with autism valuable lifeskills like teamwork and communication.In order to help the young people get the edu-cation and support they need, the Greenhousecoaches will provide multisport activitiesthroughout the school week, weekends andschool holidays to help them develop physicaland social skills. Ed Balls, secretary of state forthe Department of Children, Schools andFamilies also attended the event and said:“Improving provision for children with autismis an important priority.”

19 11/12/09 15:04 Page 1

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By Louise Cordell

PUPILS in Doncaster are beinggiven the chance to take part in oneof the most popular new sports tohit the UK.

Parkour has been introduced tothe curriculum by Lindsy Gray, theFlying High School SportPartnership’s PDM and PositiveFutures.

Lindsy said: “The creation of thisscheme came from the growingdemand that has arisen inDoncaster to engage young peoplewho have not been attracted by tra-ditional sports and activities.

“Students were taking part inParkour activities on school sitesduring break times, but teacherswere uncomfortable about the safe-ty and ability.

“So our aim was to channel theirpassion for the sport into a struc-tured programme for key stagethree and four.”

Over a 12 month period all eightsecondary schools across the part-nership took part in a series ofcoaching sessions.

A central Parkour Academy hasnow been established at theDoncaster Dome due to demandand is attracting over 60 young peo-ple a night.

The ambition for the future is for a

full parkour indoor park to be built,which could become the ParkourAcademy for the North of England.

Lindsy added: “Teachers com-mented that the young peopleattending had never stayed afterschool before for any extra curricu-lar clubs.

“These young people took owner-

ship of the programme and beganwriting applications to the YouthOpportunities Fund to furthersecure the coaching and to buyclothing to give them an identity.”

The school sport partnershipidentified a lack of qualified tutorsand a demand from schools – socommissioned Sharon Robinson to

write the first ever educationalParkour Key Stage 3 and 4 CDresource which has been endorsedby both afPE and Parkour UK.

The first teacher training day washeld in Doncaster in October andwas over subscribed, leading tomore courses being orgainsed totake place throughout 2010.

Pupils’ Parkour passion channelled

20 ATG 11/12/09 14:57 Page 1

Pupils at the Sacred Heart High School inNewcastle have been taking their Judosuccess to the next level.Katie Seymour won a bronze medal at therecent British Championships in Sheffield,making her eligible to represent Englandat forthcoming events in France andGermany and putting her on the EnglandWorld Class Development Programme.The school’s Judo coach, Joe Laws, hasbeen training pupils at Newburn’s hub clubwith funding for kit and licences providedby the Premier League 4Sport programme

and uptake for lessons this year hasincreased from 20 to 30. Lisa Burdis,Sacred Heart’s SSCo, said: “Judo has be-come a popular sport for many of our girlsin year seven and eight and they are seri-ously committed to it. Joe is a good coachand the results speak for themselves.”Katie’s year seven sister Molly, pictured,has also recently won her second bronzemedal at the National Championships forten to 11 year olds,adding to her tally oftwo Golds and one Silver.Picture: James Laughton

Award-winningRutland schooloffers overthirty sportsBy Louise Cordell

WITH over 50 matches played in 15sports each week, PE is a big part oflife at Oakham School in Rutland.

Its aim is to promote active, healthylifestyles and, in the last year,Oakham teams reached the finalnational stages in 11 different sports.

The school’s achievements havenow led to it being namedIndependent School of the Year at therecent School Sport Matters Awards.

Iain Simpson, director of sport,said: “We try to create a supportiveand inspiring atmosphere for ourpupils and we have a lot of high-pro-file alumni, including cricketer StuartBroad and rugby players Tom Croftand Lewis Moody, for them to aspireto.

“We also make the most of the factthat we are a big, well staffed school –so we can say yes to everything andnot just concentrate on a few sports.

“This means there is something foreveryone.”

At Oakham, sports afternoons takeplace on Tuesdays and Thursdays forall middle and upper school pupils,who then play their competitive fix-tures on Saturday afternoons.

The junior pupils have their gamesafternoons on Mondays, Wednesdaysand Fridays, and this is organised tomake sure that all age groups, fromnew pupils to the school teams’ topperformers, all get quality time withthe coaches.

Iain added: “Our top teams are very

important to us and we do every-thing we can to maximise theirpotential, but we also want to involveas many pupils as possible.

“We have between 500 and 600 stu-dents playing in competitive inter-school fixtures each week.

“But we also appreciate that com-petitive sport is not for everyone, sowe provide alternatives to keep theminvolved, such as kick boxing andyoga sessions.”

Overall the school offers more than30 different sports, including manyspecially requested by the pupils,such as Tae Kwon Do.

However, these are always intro-duced on top of the core curriculumto make sure that the students arenot missing out on the tried and test-ed activities.

Iain added: “I think that the kidsgain a lot of benefits from attending aschool with such a strong sportingethos.

“Firstly it is great for their fitness tobe taking part in at least eight hoursof strenuous activity a week – wehave very low levels of obesity at theschool and this is because weencourage everyone to lead an activelifestyle.

“They also get huge enjoymentfrom playing competitive sports – itprovides a real boost to their com-munication and team building skillsas well as their self confidence, hope-fully helping them keep up the habitaway from school and in the future.”

Ten-year-old Jonathan Yeates is cele-brating becoming the youngest swim-mer to complete his Honours Award atthe Dearneside Leisure Centre.The Award, which is a nationally recog-nised swimming achievement, tookhim eight months to complete andinvolved various tasks including swim-ming 1,000 metres in 20 minutes, div-ing for 2kg objects and completing aback somersault finishing in a back lay-out position.

Carol Haigh, swimming instructor forBarnsley Premiere Leisure, said:“Jonathan has done extremely well,completing the Honours award in onlyeight months and just days after histenth birthday is a great achievementand we are all very proud of him.“If Jonathan carries on swimming likehe is, there is no doubt in my mindthat he could eventually be one of thebest in the country at his level.”Jonathan is pictured with Carol

Teen talks about his achievementsTHE world’s youngest single-handedcircumnavigator has visited theUniversity of Hertfordshire to talkabout his sporting achievements.

Guest of honour, 17-year-oldMichael Perham, appeared at thesixth annual Herts Service to SportAwards evening to inspire the stu-

dents with information about his six-month round the world voyage.

The awards are organised by theHerts Sports Partnership and aim torecognise and reward the work doneby tens of thousands of volunteersinvolved in the delivery of sports pro-grammes across Hertfordshire.

news 21

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THE new study, carried out by childobesity experts, Carnegie WeightManagement, found that 61 percent of the children would not con-sider surgery to lose weight andinstead wanted to get in shape nat-urally.

Most, 71 per cent, felt that thedrastic option was too dangerous,60 per cent saw it as ‘cheating’ andjust under two thirds believe thatthere are easier ways to get theresults they want.

The survey was carried out to tryand uncover young peoples’ per-ceptions of the issues surroundingobesity, though the eyes of thosedirectly affected by it.

Over 100 clinically obese youngpeople were interviewed and askedabout the problems they face on adaily basis, their attitudes towardsovercoming their weight problemsand their biggest fears.

Professor Paul Gately, founder ofCarnegie Weight Management,said: “To truly get to the heart ofthis issue and uncover new ways toreach out to the 2.3 million youngpeople who are tackling obesity,you need to speak directly to thosewho are living with this problemday in, day out.

“The common theme amongstobese children seen in this survey

is that they simply want to be seenas normal and be given the guid-ance, and most importantly – theconfidence and self esteem boostneeded to beat their weight issues.”

Although the children questionedrejected extreme weight loss meth-ods, 74 per cent had dieted in thepast with no results and a quarterblamed a lack of weight manage-ment services in their area for theirlack of success.

They also criticised teachers andeducation authorities, with 60 percent of them feeling that they donot get any support or help in over-coming their weight issues when atschool, and nearly half experienc-ing bullying because of their size.

The majority of the children inter-viewed said that they did not feelunder pressure to become a sizezero, with only three per cent want-ing to achieve that figure and 43per cent claiming it ‘looks ridicu-lous’.

However, when asked about theirfears for the future, well over halfworried that their image will pre-vent them from getting a boyfriendor girlfriend and the same amountare concerned that their weightcould prevent them from pursuingtheir dream career.

Finally, despite the widely blamed

weight gain causes, only 29 percent of the obese children saw eat-ing too much junk food as thecause of their weight problem.

Instead the majority claimed thatmanaging portion sizes was themain reason and 48 per cent alsofelt that they spent too much timewatching TV instead of exercising.

Professor Gately added: “The obe-sity time bomb is ticking for theNHS and the future state of oureconomy.

“Our study has highlighted thatchildren want to lose weight, butthey are calling for more support tohelp them achieve this.

“The findings reaffirm that thisproblem is everyone’s collectiveresponsibility and we need to worktogether to successfully tackle it.”

A survey of clinically obese children has shown that they reject the idea of weight loss surgery with more thanhalf viewing gastric bands as ‘cheating’. Instead they blame a lack of support from the government andschools for their weight problems. Future Fitness found out more.

Obese youngsters want to getin shape naturally – survey

Professor Paul Gately

Deven Bowler, aged 16 fromRotherham, who attended this year’sCarnegie International Camp andparticipated in the survey, said:“Being overweight makes me feeldifferent to everyone else, it affectslots of things in my life like theclothes that I can wear and my confi-dence.“I want to lose weight to becomemore healthy and look more like my

friends, but its hard when there areso many temptations at home andlittle support from school.“I lost over a stone at camp, so Iknow its about making healthychoices and portion control, if I’m to continue losing weight athome.“Now I know I can do it and I’mdetermined to lead a healthylifestyle.”

Case Study

Young people from the Cambourne YouthPartnership have been sharing their viewsand concerns on health with their local MP.Andrew Lansley, shadow secretary of statefor health, visited the partnership as partof national youth health campaign, MakeSpace for Health.At the event kids took part in a cookerydemonstration hosted by two professionalNestlé chefs to learn some quick, healthyrecipes and then talked to their MP about

how healthy they thought they were andwhat additional support and advice theywould find helpful.Mr Lansley said: “It’s clear that support ismore effective when local organisationspull together to help young people ontheir own terms.“Places like youth clubs are ideal settingsas young people always respond more pos-itively to health support when they feelrelaxed and at ease in their environment.”

£500k grant boost foruniversity sports projectDURHAM University has beenoffered a £500,000 investment toimprove its sports outreach work andprovide the best new facilities for itsathletes.

The Sport England grant will sup-port a £6.7m project to refurbish anddevelop Maiden Castle, theUniversity’s main sports site inDurham City.

The scheme, named ‘SportingFutures’ will include an indoor row-ing tank, a world class fencing piste,indoor cricket nets and a perform-ance analysis suite.

There will also be new facilities foruse by athletes with disabilities andan extended sports hall and changingrooms. The redevelopment, which isset to be completed by October 2010,will also help to expand the universi-

ty’s community outreach work. Last year it ran community schemes

assisted by over 175 student volun-teers, using sport to tackle socialproblems and raise aspirations.

At the moment the sports facilitiesreach maximum capacity during out-reach sessions, but the new facilitieswill let the university to offer moreopportunities to more people.

Emma Hall-Craggs, assistant direc-tor of community outreach, said:“The university has invested heavilyin its staff to deliver its three strategicstrands of high performance, partici-pation and outreach. This long await-ed redevelopment will enable us tomatch this expertise with world classfacilities, the combination of the tworesulting in a lasting legacy for 2012.”

Blind football team set up in south eastA NEW regional blind football teamhas been set up in the South East.

The Middlesex and Home CountiesBlind Team will be led by FA qualifiedcoaches employed by MiddlesexCounty FA and will represent the

region in the National Blind League.The Football Association are estab-

lishing Area Blind Teams across thecountry as part of the Playground toPodium programme by working inpartnership with prominent CountyFAs from 2009-12.

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By Louise Cordell

PUPILS at Brownedge St Mary’sSports College in Preston haveincreased their fitness levels by 6.5per cent in the last year.

They have been taking part in theFit For Sport Fitter Schools Challenge,completing tests based on stamina,strength and skill, and the bigimprovement led to the school win-ning the Fitter Schools prize.

Stephen Sloan, PE teacher, said: “Weused our PE lessons to run the testsand get our first readings.

“Then, luckily our lesson plans atthat time were based around athlet-ics, which fitted in nicely with thetraining and allowed us to focus ontechnique and building strength andstamina.

“The hard work the pupils put inpaid off, because after the next set oftests, we showed the biggest percent-age increase of any school in thecompetition – 6.5 per cent acrossthree year groups and 320 pupils.”

Brownedge St Mary’s has been aspecialist sports college for sevenyears and puts special emphasis onincreasing participation.

All pupils get a minimum of twohours of curriculum PE every week,as well as taking part in a range ofother clubs and activities.

The sports on offer include the tra-ditional like football, netball andrugby and some more recently intro-duced new activities to extend andenrich the curriculum includinghandball, ultimate frisbee and boxer-cise.

Stephen added: “We consulted withpupils when coming up with the newactivities as we wanted to get theirviews and make sure it was a pupilled curriculum.

“We felt that finding something foreveryone would mean that theywould stay engaged longer and hope-fully continuing keeping fit even afterthey leave school.

“We found that bringing in newthings benefits the kids a lot – manypupils who had lost interest weresuddenly full of enthusiasm and ask-ing for more sessions.”

The school also works hard to makethe most of its resources, adaptingactivities to make use of the equip-ment and facilities available.

Stephen points out that there is a lotof funding out there if schools takethe time and effort to apply.

He said: “The main bonus of thisprize is the new equipment wereceived, which will allow us to puton further new sessions which wewouldn’t have been able to do other-wise.

“We hope to put together a packagethat we can roll out to other schoolsin our partnership – we believe thatsharing resources is the way forward.”

Brownedge St Mary’s Sports College wererecently awarded a new, fully-accessible,minibus worth £40,000 by the charity Lord’sand Lady Taveners, after managing tofundraise a self-help contribution of over£9,500. Stephen said: “This will benefit theschool massively as we have a number ofdisabled pupils and this will help to promote inclusion in fixtures and matchesand make sure they can get involved ineverything we do.”Picture: Stephen Sloan and AnnetteHigham, the school’s director of sport, withthe key to their new minibus.

Pupils’ hard work pays off as fitnesslevels rise by 6.5%

Steve Sloan and pupils from Brownedge St Mary’s receiving their award from Roger Black

Latest interactive fitnesstechnology for Dorset schoolsA GROUP of special needs schoolsin Dorset have been fitted out withthe latest interactive fitness technology.

The schools are part of CambianEducation, the largest provider ofspecialist residential education andcare for young people with autismand Asperger Syndrome in the UK.

Purbeck View School in Swanage,Forum School in Shillingstone andSouthlands School in Lymingtonhave each installed two ZigZagsportwall panels.

Clare Stockley, PE coordinator at

Purbeck View School, said: “Wewere developing the sports facilitiesspecifically with autism in mindand wanted something innovativethat would motivate the students.

“As they have Autistic SpectrumDisorders they are not always willing to join in with team games,but the sportwall is the ideal medium for them to competeagainst each other without directinteraction.

“They can play easily by themselves, but also in smallgroups without feeling stressed.”

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news24

LORD Lawson of Beamish School hasbeen rebuilt with health and fitnessin mind as part of Gateshead’sSchools PFI project.

The school has been completelyreconstructed on its existing site andan air conditioned fitness room hasbeen included in the plans for use bystudents, staff and the public.

As part of the new school’s ‘FitnessSuite Project’, research was undertak-en to identify the right fitness equip-ment to attract and encourage train-ing by a wide age group andSportsArt Fitness UK were taken onfor the planning and supply of equip-ment.

John Reach, deputy head teacher,said: “The facility has brought a newdimension to sport at Lord Lawson’sas we now offer fitness modules toour GCSE work and younger studentshave an extra activity that is provingvery popular.

“External groups are also very keento hire our facilities, such as basket-ball clubs, football clubs and the localathletics club, as very few providersoffer such a well equipped and pro-fessionally run gym to supplementtheir core function.

“Overall the project has been a verybeneficial initiative to Lord Lawson.”

School rebuilt with healthand fitness in mind ...

UKA and Aviva have announcedthe first part of a newly-improvedawards scheme – The Aviva UKAAcademy Awards.

As part of the recently launchedAviva UKA Academy, the awards place emphasis on children achieving and havingpersonal development recog-nised. This single UK-wide awardprogramme covers the three mainplatforms of athletics: indoor,track and field and enduranceand has been designed to be usedin both school and club environ-

ment.The Sportshall Award is the first

to be launched offering both pri-mary and secondary levels a flexi-ble indoor athletics awardsscheme based on the world-renowned Sportshall athleticsprogramme. The scheme takesinto account that whatever thefacility, with support and use ofthe Aviva Elevating Athleticsresource pack, it is simple to useto motivate, inspire and set for-ward goals for any child.

Awards focus on child achievement

24 Filler 10/12/09 13:34 Page 1

news 25

‘Half of girls aged11-16 restrictwhat they eat’By Louise CordellGIRLS start wanting to be thin asearly as age ten and half of 11 to 16year olds restrict what they eat to stayslim, according to a new study.

Girlguiding UK has published theresults of its largest piece of research to date, which shows thatwhen girls reach age ten, they start todevelop body image insecurities thataffect their health for the nextdecade.

The aim of the study was to look atthe attitudes of girls and youngwomen across the UK and quizzed1,109 girls and women aged seven to 21 on topics including bingedrinking, eating disorders, plasticsurgery, sexual health and bodyimage.

It found that 24 per cent of 16 to 21year olds would consider cosmeticsurgery and 12 per cent of 11 to 16year olds have thought about havinga gastric band.

The research revealed that ten is animportant age when it comes toappearance - among seven to 11 yearolds, just two per cent were nothappy with their appearance but this

rose to 11 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds.

When it came to being thinner, fiveper cent of seven to nine-year-oldswanted to get slimmer, and this wentup to 12 per cent of ten to 11-year-olds, and 27 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds.

The report stated: “A significantnumber of all the girls survey couldname at least one thing they wouldlike to change about the way theylook and at the age of ten or eleven, apreoccupation with being thin sets inand dominates the next ten years oftheir lives.”

A panel of young women agedbetween 15 and 24 were also asked tomake some recommendations foraddressing these issues.

They said: “Magazines haveimproved significantly on issues sur-rounding body image, but free gifts ofmake up and cosmetic surgeryadverts undermine these positivemessages.

“Schools should start focusing onself esteem at a younger age, forexample by introducing high qualityPHSE provision much earlier.”

Players from Sunderland Football Club arevisiting schools around the city as part of anew Active Bus project.The scheme is aimed at improving thehealth and wellbeing of the community bygiving them access to the most technologi-cally advanced body composition equip-ment.The bus has various pieces of health andfitness equipment on board to help teach-

ers and pupils meet the healthy schoolsagenda and promote physical activity.The equipment has been provided byInBody and provides a detailed picture ofbody composition, revealing the amount oflean muscle tissue in each limb, water con-tent and body fat percentage.Picture: Sunderland players FraizerCampbell and Jordan Henderson with localschool pupils

25 Hodder 9/12/09 16:18 Page 1

365 directory26

Training & Qualifications

YMCA FIT111 Great Russell StLondonWC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1855W: www.ymcafit.org.ukE: info@ymcafit.org.uk

Central YMCA Qualifications111 Great Russell StLondonWC1B 3NPT: 0207 343 1800W: www.cyq.org.ukE: info@cyq.org.uk

Jump Rope Uk Ltd16 Riverside ParkWimborneDorsetBH21 1QUtel: 01202 840590fax: 01202 840577jumpropes@ntjr.co.ukwww.ntjr.co.uk

National Extension CollegeThe Michael Young CentrePurbeck RoadCambridgeCB2 8HNT: 0800 389 2839 W: www.nec.ac.ukE: info@nec.ac.uk

Sports Facility Development

Sports Solutions GBSuite OneCopse FarmSouth Marston ParkSwindonSN3 4UQT: 01793 833456W: www.sportssolutionsgb.co.ukE: chris.bevan@sports-solutionsgb.co.uk

Training EquipmentCrazy CatchWall Tree House FarmSteaneBrackleyNN13 5NST: 01295 816765W: www.flicx.comE: ricx@flicx.com

Interactive Equipment/ Dance MatsPulse Dance MachineThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Cyber CoachUnit 1a Britannia Business ParkUnion RdThe ValleyBoltonBL2 2HPT: 0845 869 2848W: www.cyber-coach.co.ukE: info@cyber-coach.co.uk

Fitness EquipmentPulse FitnessThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

SportsArt Fitness2 Dean CourtUnit 10 Shuttleworth Mead Bus ParkPadihamLancsBB12 7NGT: 01282 779234W: www.sportsartfitness.comE: mark.turner@sportsartfitness.com

Hexa Sports LtdNew Bond StreetBirminghamB9 4EJtel: 0121 7720724sales@hexasports.co.ukwww.hexasports.co.uk

Design & BuildPulse SelectThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Football Facility BuildGoals Soccer Centres plcOrbital HousePeel ParkEast KilbrideG74 5PRT: 01355 234800W: www.goalsfootball.co.ukE: keithm@goalsfootball.co.uk

Pulse Soccer CentresThe Bromley CentreBromley RdCongletonCheshireCW12 1PTT: 01260 294600W: www.pulsefitness.comE: info@pulsefitness.com

Professional AssociationsAssociation for Physical EducationBuilding 25London RoadReadingBerkshireRG1 5AQT: 0118 378 2440W: www.afpe.org.ukE: enquiries@afpe.org.uk

British Colleges Sport2/3 North Street WorkshopsNorth StStoke-Sub-HamdonSomersetTA14 6QRT: 01935 823444W: www.britishcollegessport.orgE: kate.paul@britishcollegessport.org

Climbing WallsFreedom ClimberCherry CottageGuildford RdCranleighSurreyGU6 8LST: 07554 016220W: www.revolutionaryproducts.co.ukE: andrew@revolutionary-products.co.uk

Entre PrisesEden WorksColne RdKelbrookLancsBB18 6SHT: 01282 444800W: www.ep-uk.comE: info@ep-uk.com

Audio EquipmentSound Dynamics51 Bridge StBelperDerbyshireDE56 1AYT: 01773 828486F: 01773 828475W: www.sound-dynamics.co.ukE: support@sound-dynamics.co.uk

26 365 10/12/09 12:54 Page 1

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If you would like to advertise inthis directory please contact

James on 01226 734 672

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