Tony Harris and Andy Day, School Games Organisers for the Isle of Wight, recently organised a day of celebration to reward the commitment of local schools to PE and sport.
In the last academic year, half of the schools on the Isle of Wight achieved gold for the School Games Mark Award. The mark is a national accredited award made to recognise schools for their dedication to developing school sport and competition.
18 schools from the Island attended the special event on 20th April and teachers chose 4 pupils to represent their school. The children selected were sports leaders or ambassadors.
The celebration was held at the West Wight Sports and Community Centre in Freshwater. The centre provides activities to support the community’s physical, mental health and wellbeing needs. This was a fitting venue for Energise Me, who are on a mission to beat inactivity and create healthy and happy communities.
Tony Harris, School Games Organiser for the Isle of Wight said on the day:
“It has been a very rewarding experience to organise today to reward all the hard work and commitment shown by the Island’s 21 Gold Games Mark schools. The staff and children work so hard all year to support the School Games and to gain the award.
“Good luck to Greenmount, Queensgate, Hunnyhill and Bembridge who are our 4 schools aiming to gain their fifth gold this year and qualify to apply for a Platinum Award”.
Island Adventure Activities and Range Finders Laser Combat provided an abundance of high energy activities to kick start the day. This was followed by team building activities including laser and archery tag, parachute games and many more.
The tag archery was a fantastic hit as the children dived behind inflatable bunkers and tried to hit the target on their opponent’s side. It was a great way to introduce friendly combat sports and archery in a new light. The day ended with a fun afternoon of aqua splash in the pool.
Alannah Stephenson Project Officer (PE and School Sport) for Energise Me said:
“It was wonderful to see the children having fun, making new friends, working together and having a great time. It is fantastic to see 21 out of the 43 schools on the Island achieving School Games Mark Gold. With the great work that is being done by primary schools in PE & School Sport, I am confident that this will continue to increase each year”.
