On December the 8th 2011 Bolton Wanderers Community Trust officially announced the Active Families initiative to the community, and did it in some style!
Since September of 2011 the Active Families project has been working in Bolton’s Primary and Secondary schools promoting physical activity, and conducting health & wellbeing awareness lessons as part of its long term strategy to help prevent future generations developing preventable health related conditions.
St. Matthews Primary School in Little Lever was the chosen venue for us to stage the project’s official launch event as the children and staff noticeably embraced what the Active Families Initiative is all about.
Guests from; MEND, Get Active, NHS, CVS, Healthy Schools, Primary Care Trust, and the children’s parents, were invited to attend the event which would see pupils from Year 6 participate in a game-show style quiz based on questions and challenges related to health & wellbeing.
Year 6 were split into two teams of 15; the Red Team, and the Yellow Team. With both teams needing a captain to give them the best chance of victory, The Yellow Team found theirs in the form of their Head Teacher, Mrs Ryding.
Upon hearing the news that Active Families was officially launching its project, and that the Red Team were in need of a proven leader, Mr Bolton Wanderers F.C himself, Kevin Davies answered their SOS and stopped by to lend his support to the Active Families project and captain the Red Team.
As this was sure to be a contest for the ages, a Match of the Day reporter and camera crew were in attendance to record the epic showdown between the Red Team and Yellow Team, led by their fearless captains. The two teams were required to answer 12 health related questions and participate in six physical challenges.
In what was a closely run contest, the Red Team, led by Kevin Davies, won by a single point!
After leading his team to victory, Kevin participated in a Q+A session with all of the children from Year 6, thoroughly answering questions on the various things he and his family do to stay healthy and keep active. He also gave an interview to Bolton News stating his thoughts on the project; “As a father myself, it is important for me that my children lead healthy active lifestyles and as a parent, it is reassuring to know that this is encouraged so strongly in schools such as St Matthew’s with the help of the Active Families project.”
The Active Families project will visit a new crop of Primary and Secondary schools after the Christmas break, looking to continue the excellent work it has achieved already in schools such as St Matthew’s primary.
If you are keen to test your health related knowledge, have a go at the questions posed for the Active Families quiz Click here
