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8 news Trinity Deneview School in Newcastle was rewarded for its efforts in outdoor physical activity when it was voted school of the year for innovation by its SSP. Lyndsey Smith spoke with head of PE, Mervyn Riley, to find out what makes his school stand out.
Getting kids out of school lands Mervyn a top award MERVYN is a former territorial army instructor and is now a mountain leader, and it was his passion for the outdoors that has helped the secondary school encourage more of its students to be active. It has so far offered classes in rockclimbing, hill walking, orienteering, mountain biking, obstacle courses and beachwalks. He said: “Activities take place on my site and I have more flexibility in making things happen in terms of getting the kids out of school. “We offer outdoor and residential activities and I get lots of support from the school, with outdoor activities now written into the school improvement plan. “I aim for 100 per cent full time attenders six times a year, with the other sites working in cycles and offering different activities sporadically.” Mervyn said he selected outdoors events as they offered a workout over a more prolonged period and can also help build stamina.
He added: “Anyone can kick a ball around for a few minutes but we are talking about sustained effort for a few hours – sustained physical activity over a prolonged period. “You can see in the competitive games we play at school the one thing lacking is stamina and this works wonders. “Cross country is a good example of when stamina comes to the fore and those that win are also those with a little bit of grit and determination – and it also helps to develop a degree of confidence. “The main problems I find is that kids don’t cope very well with not winning and PE is a steep learning curve in terms of that. “The outdoor stuff is more cooperative activity, some find it difficult but I think they surprise themselves in terms of the degree of cooperation they have and the engagement of the kids has a knock on effect across the whole curriculum. “A lot of the kids are inner city and it can be a bit disorientating for them
Mervyn Riley when we go to the Highlands or to the Lake District. “You have the would-be hard cases in tears as it starts to get dark and they are walking through the woods
wanting to hold your hand and it proves very beneficial in terms of communication. “It’s all about broadening their horizons.”
Sharron with some young people during one of the sessions.
Sharron helps raise profile of young apprenticeships OLYMPIC champion Sharron Davies was one of the stars who took part in a series of events to raise the profile of young apprenticeships in sport and active leisure. She was joined by paralympian Mickey Bushell for the sessions organised by SkillsActive which included presentations, talks, meetings and activity sessions. School pupils, college students and employers came together to discover more about the benefits of sports apprenticeships to both employers and young people. Stephen Studd, chief executive of
SkillsActive said: “Sport and active leisure is a key area for a number of reasons. Not only does it contribute to the Government’s targets for improving the health of the nation and tackling the growing obesity crisis, it also features high on the agenda in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics. There’s never been a better or more exciting time to get involved.” The sessions ran as part of National Apprentice Week in London, Brighton, Bristol, Bolton, Buxton, Telford, Wellingborough, Sunderland, Harrogate and Benfleet.