Pupils at a Denton school are counting down to this summer’s 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games by throwing themselves into helping the local community.
Denton Community College are aiming to harness the power of sport to engage with different ages and generations as part of the Get Set for Community Action programme.
Created by the British Olympic Foundation and British Paralympic Association, and made possible due to the Big Lottery Fund, the UK-wide Get Set for Community Action programme aims to help thousands of 14-19 years old to strengthen relationships between young people and their communities.
Last month organisers of the Get Set Roadshow team visited Denton Community College to help get the creative juices flowing for 19 students in Year 8 and 9 taking part in the project.
And PE teacher Rachel Ward could not be happier with how the plans for the coming months are developing.
“Our school have split into three groups to work on separate projects,” she explained.
“Some of their ideas are to organise a football tournament at a local sports centre for young children.
“One group are planning to hold an afternoon tea in a care home and spend the afternoon there doing some arm-chair aerobics.
“And another group are planning on organising an Olympic sports day for disabled people at Tameside College.
“The students have come up with their own ideas and developed some ideas from the Get Set Action Roadshow training day held on February 10.
“It gave them lots of ideas and developed their teamwork and communication skills.”
With less than six months to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio, Denton Community College pupils are helping to build pride and excitement in the lead-up to next summer.
And Rachel believes the initiative will have not only had an impact on the community but also the students.
“We are running an Olympic week during National School Sports Week,” she added.
“One of our groups are going to deliver an Olympic day to students with disabilities at Tameside College.
“These projects give the students to opportunity and experience to plan and deliver their own projects.
“They gain the skills that they will need in order to organise fun activities for a range of people and ages. These are then life skills for the students.”
Get Set for Community Action is a new UK-wide programme for young people and their communities created by the British Olympic Foundation and British Paralympic Association and made possible thanks to the Big Lottery Fund. To find out more visit: www.getsetaction.org.uk
Image courtesy of Jon Butterworth/MC2/Doodledomotion via YouTube, with thanks.
