Forget football, netball and rounders, a primary school has introduced gardening to its sports agenda to get more kids active.
Nether Alderley Primary School has been given £1,000 from a sports charity to help create a gardening club and help improve physical activity rates among its pupils.
The school identified the need to encourage children who don’t currently engage in traditional sports to become more active, and came up with the idea of a gardening club – which is so popular that even Tatton MP George Osborne dropped in to have a look.
Richard Craven, headteacher at Nether Alderley Primary, said: “As a school, we are committed to getting our children active. This has been a great project for our children and volunteers alike and the support we have received from Active Cheshire has been invaluable.
“The whole school is benefitting from using the new garden and it has made a great impact on everyone who has seen it.”
Utilising a previously unused outdoor area, the club is run by volunteers from the local community.
As well as creating a beautiful new garden and getting club members and the local community physically active, the space has benefited the welfare of the entire school, who now use the new garden as an outdoor learning facility.
The grant, from ‘Active Cheshire, Active Anywhere’, was specifically used to provide gardening equipment for the children and volunteers to use.
Anne Boyd, CEO of Active Cheshire said: “I am delighted that we have supported Nether Alderley in creating this fabulous garden. It is vital that we instil the habit of exercise within children at an early age, and encourage those who do not enjoy traditional sports to try other kinds of physical activity.”
Mr Osborne incorporated the visit as part of a planned trip to his constituency on Friday and was keen to see the school’s project after his original visit, planned for May, was postponed due to the general election.
He said: “Nether Alderley’s school garden is a brilliant initiative. The pupils have worked hard to create a beautiful outdoor space and really enjoy the exercise.
“I am grateful to Active Cheshire for the work they do across Cheshire to help people lead healthy, active lifestyles.”
