Edufunduk are delighted to award the £10,000 PE Major Award to Presdales School. The grant will be used to equip their multigym with treadmills, static bikes, a rower and a cross-trainer.
Nikki Albone (Revenue Generation Coordinator) led a very strong application which emphasised both the importance of this form or exercise and the wide range of its beneficiaries. The multigym will be used by many pupils at the school, from their 220 Sports Leaders and elite athletes to regular PE classes, numerous after-school clubs and small groups of girls who are struggling with self-esteem issues. With around 10% PP students, the free access will be a big draw considering the costs of gym membership and travel locally.
But it doesn't stop there…
Primary school pupils will have access through KS1 festivals, school games competitions, participation festivals and 'Come and Try It' events and the many sports clubs using the school will also be able to arrange access. Staff at the school will not be left out - following a very positive survey of interest, they will be able to use the facility before and after school too.
Nikki drew on research and campaigns like "This Girl Can" to highlight the problems of exercise drop-off rates for girls, particularly through fear of judgement. Friendly, small group sessions in the multigym will help rebuild self-esteem and fitness. Individual exercise programmes would not only help these girls but also hone the skills of all pupils at Presdales', right up to their gifted and talented and elite athletes such as their England U16 Girls Football captain and G.B. sailor.
Research was also quoted to show the positive effects of exercise on academic success. Allied to this, we were particularly impressed by how keen other departments were to make use of the facility for study e.g. Biology for practical lessons on bioenergetics and Maths and Physics to bring their subjects to life by generating personal data on speed, acceleration, time etc. for analysis.
Longevity of benefit was also a strength of the bid. Nikki estimated the 7-12 year lifetime of the equipment would provide excellent value for money, giving students gym access at a cost of less than £1 a year per student over that time. The schools Trust fund also committed to provide a maintenance and replacement programme should the bid be successful.
We wish Presdales a speedy and successful installation of the equipment and maybe some cooler weather once it's up and running.