Boxmoor school pupils step up fitness and classroom concentration with Daily Mile scheme

Pupils at Boxmoor Primary School are making steps towards greater wellbeing.

Boxmoor Primary Schools celebrated its first anniversary of participating in The Daily Mile – a free scheme aimed at getting children out of the classroom for 15 minutes each day to run or jog at their own pace.

The scheme aims to promote physical fitness and improved concentration in the classroom.

Staff from the Herts Sport and Physical Activity Partnership (HSP), the local Active Partnership for Hertfordshire, joined the school in celebrating the milestone.

Faye Lahiffe, Project Assistant at HSP said: “The children showed exceptional enthusiasm and dedication and were supporting their peers throughout which was lovely to witness. The link between physical activity and mental health is widely recognised therefore being able to support the school community with their Daily Mile activity was a special way to end Childrens Mental Health Week.”

The event was also supported by Steve Frew, a Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentor, who delivered a presentation about his sporting journey including the setbacks he faced before his success and gymnastics gold medal win at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Steve demonstrated some gymnastic moves before joining the pupils with their Daily Mile activity in the playground.

Headteacher Vicky Campos said: “The Daily Mile has been one of the best things that we have introduced in our school. We love the fact that it is inclusive, everyone takes part, even the staff! It doesn’t matter whether you are the fastest runner or whether you prefer to fast walk, the Daily Mile is for everyone. We have seen huge benefits on our children, both physically and mentally. Some of our children now take part in weekend park-runs with their families and cross-country events thanks to the Daily Mile. It is the perfect way of preparing our children for learning.”

Gordon Banks, Global Director at The Daily Mile Foundation also attended the event. He said leaders and teachers really seemed to value the scheme for the broader impact it has on children’s happiness, concentration, and general behaviour.