Pupils gear up for National School Sport Week

Monday marked the beginning of National School Sport Week - an annual event held every year from June 24-28.

A key date on the school calendar, the event highlights the importance of PE and school sport, with an emphasis placed on improving the physical and mental wellbeing of pupils.

This year's theme is based around wellbeing: being active, connecting, giving back, taking notice and learning.

The above principles will be showcased throughout schools up and down the country, with a host of Tameside schools lucky enough to have Olympic bronze medalist Kelly Massey visiting from Monday-Friday.

In conjunction with Tameside School Sports Partnership, Kelly will be speaking to pupils, delivering motivational speeches and coordinating workshops.

And the 34-year-old could well spot a future star, with more than 7,000 pupils recently completing the Dr Ron Hyde 7 Mile Challenge. The concept, which was designed between Tameside SSP and Sports Tours International - the company behind the Tour of Tameside, which took place across four days from June 13-16 - was launched to get children up and moving. 

Pupils were tasked with running, walking or jogging a total of seven miles over term five. With 23 schools completing the challenge, the uptake in interest only serves to highlight the growing popularity of physical activity within the borough.

Some of the pupils who completed the challenge will now be gearing up for the Greater Manchester Summer School Games, which is taking place at Sport City on Wednesday (26th). The eagerly awaited event sees some of the best schools from across the region battle it out to become the best in their chosen sport. We captured some of the highlights from the Winter version, which took place in March.

More information on National School Sport Week can be found here: https://www.youthsporttrust.org/national-school-sport-week