The pupils of Albyn School took part in a fun fitness circuit with Theo before he demonstrated a body throw to the children. Mr Paul Bertolotto, head of the lower school said: “Theo Spalding inspired the children to understand that if you set challenging, but achievable goals, you can reach your goal and develop all sorts of new challenges for yourself”. To find out more, click here.
Author - sportsforschools - Page 3
Great Athletes teams up with intu shopping centres
The partnership was introduced by brandmeetsbrand on behalf of Great Athletes. intu shopping centres provide a fantastic opportunity for Great Athletes to engage with a wide audience of all ages; promoting the benefits of getting active and working with local athletes to inspire & motivate.
Michael Ledzion, Chief Sportivater of Great Athletes, said, “We’re really looking forward to visiting the intu shopping centres and spreading our message of the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. We’ll be inviting families to join a terrifically fun speed bounce competition, as well as offering people the opportunity to hear directly from inspirational local athletes.”
Lisa Trodd, Assistant Marketing Manager at intu Uxbridge, added; “We can’t wait to work with Great Athletes bringing plenty of bounce and giggles to the centre. With an £100 gift card up for grabs we hope to have lots of children and adults getting involved having fun whilst being active. With special guests Rion Pierre and Kola Adedoyin presenting the best bouncer awards we hope to inspire many youngsters into the world of sport.
For all enquiries please contact Francesca Laughton, Great Athletes
T: 01223 792 202| E: [email protected]
Diver James Denny makes a splash at Cambridge Dive Centre!
Commonwealth Diver James Denny visited the Cambridge dive centre to pass on some of his expertise to the club’s young divers. James watched a session at Parkside Pools and then held a question and answer session where the children had chance to find out more about his career, training and lifestyle. Find out more about the story here.
1 million inspired kids
The word “million” is often used in the English language as a metaphor for a very large number. We say things like “not in a million years” or “you’re one in a million”.
A million is interesting because it’s HUGE.
We’re really excited to have done the sums and confirm that ONE MILLION children have completed a Great Athletes fitness circuit since 2006.
What is a million?
Getting a million of anything isn’t easy…for example:
- A million seconds is 11.57 days
- One million pennies stacked on top of another would make a tower nearly 1 mile high
- One Olympic sized pool contains 1 million litres of water
How did we get to a million?
About 1,300 schools each year across the UK invite us in to run an fitness circuit and enjoy an inspiring assembly with a GB/Olympic athlete, reaching around 350,000 children. There are approximate 4.5 million primary school children in the UK and we’re ready to inspire the other 3.5 million.
What do we do with a million children?
Light hearted, fun-based physical exercise. All children love exercise (most can’t understand why you’d walk when you can run). The children encourage each other to complete the circuits, cheering along to music. They do exercises such as spotty dogs, leg drives and push ups alongside an elite GB athlete.
The next million…
The good news is, even though a million is HUGE, we’ve only just begun.
We want to put physical health on a par with mental health and academic achievement.
We strive to visit as many primary aged children as we can. We just want to inspire them to do more sport with the help of top athletes and help them to reap the benefits of physical activity.
Thanks a million
Thanks so much to everyone who has played a part in helping us to reach this amazing first million milestone.
To find out more about how you can help us reach the next million or even better… BE A PART of the NEXT MILLION, call us NOW on 01223 792200 (or email [email protected]) – we’d love to hear from you!
‘Awesome’ athlete Luke puts children through their paces
Luke Lennon-Ford visited Nyewood CCE Infant School as part of the Great Athletes scheme – with one excited youngster describing the visit as “awesome”. Anna Wells, Deputy Head Teacher at Nyewood, said the children took part “with great motivation and enthusiasm” and “the sight of 258 children undertaking such an event was truly fantastic!” Read more…
Children get a taste of top gymnastics action at Happisburgh Primary School
GB gymnast Danny Lawrence visited Happisburgh Primary School on the 14th of October as part of the Great Athletes scheme. The children did a fun fitness circuit and then watched Danny display some of his flexible gymnastics moves! Danny stressed the importance of trying every sport and finding something that you love. Read more…
Katrina Hart inspires youngsters from her old school!
Paralympic Bronze medalist Katrina Hart has visited pupils at her old school to inspire them to achieve their life goals.The visit took place on the 29th of September. Katrina led a fun fitness circuit with the children followed by an inspiration talk and assembly. Head Teacher Heather Thomson said: “[Katrina] spoke about being determined and focused, which are two of the school’s five good learning characteristics, and how this has helped in her journey to success.” Read more…
Great Athletes teams up with Fun Kids Radio
Fun Kids is a radio station for children and their families with 389,000 listening every week. You can listen on DAB Digital Radio in London, and across the rest of the UK online at funkidslive.com. From Bin weevils to The Beano, Fun Kids is packed with your favourite stars along with all the best tunes from Little Mix, The Vamps, Taylor Swift and loads more!
Fun Kids Radio is a perfect fit for Great Athletes and the partnership, which was brokered by sponsorship agency brandmeetsbrand, will include interviews with athletes, school shout outs on air and a specially created Fun Kids Radio soundtrack for the events.
Michael Ledzion, Chief Sportivater of Great Athletes, said, “We’re hugely excited to partner with Fun Kids Radio. We can’t wait to start creating exciting content and working together to achieve our ambition to put physical exercise on a par with literacy and numeracy in schools!”
Great Athletes joins Social Enterprise UK
Social Enterprise UK is the national body for businesses that profit society. Along with their members, they are the voice of social enterprise, building networks to enable shared knowledge and resources. SEUK campaigns to create a business environment where social enterprises can thrive, influencing politicians across the spectrum to recognise the importance of pushing these beneficial businesses up the policy agenda.
On becoming a member of Social Enterprise UK, Michael Ledzion, Chief Sportivater at Great Athletes, says:
“This is an exciting development for us, and recognises the model we set out for Great Athletes from the very beginning – that we put social impact at the heart of every business decision we make, and operate with this purpose in mind. Through their commitment and effort in the pursuit of their passions, Great Athletes athletes have developed humility and discipline that enable them to be outstanding and genuine role models for children today. We are reframing the education debate by putting physical health on a par with mental health and academic achievement.”
Read about what Social Enterprise UK has to say about Great Athletes becoming an SEUK member…
Great Athletes joins Fundraising Standards Board
The Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) is the independent self-regulatory scheme for fundraising in the UK. FRSB support their members by helping them to meet or exceed fundraising best practise. Members of the public are protected by this membership since the FRSB ensure that all their members are accountable for their fundraising and are responsible in dealing with any concerns that may arise.
The high standards that Great Athletes have maintained and committed to following in the future are set by the Institute of Fundraising and are published as the Code of Fundraising Practise. The standards are based on thorough research within the fundraising industry and are continually informed and strengthened by the feedback that the public provide.
“The FRSB tick is a mark of trust and credibility – it shows that we really care about our supporters”, said our Chief Sportivater, Michael Ledzion.
Our funding scheme is designed to be a triple win, by helping schools raise money for new PE equipment, supporting the country’s top international athletes and running inspirational events at no financial risk to the schools involved. This scheme relies on those participating in the event just trying their best to raise as much money as they can.
Michael added, “Our membership to FRSB means that sponsors can confidently support the events run by Great Athletes. This gives primary schools the opportunity to invest in new PE equipment and helps children across the UK to be inspired by our country’s top athletes always to try their best, believe in themselves and work hard at everything they do”.