- June 11th, 2010
Falkirk Games
- nickmorgan
- Comments: 3 Comments »
On 4th June Falkirk Council held its mini Commonwealth Games at Grangemouth Stadium. All 1800 Primary 7 pupils in the Falkirk area take part in this transition event, with each class group given a country to represent. This event takes place every two years to coincide with either the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics, so the 2010 event mirrors the Commonwealth Games to be held in October in Delhi, India.
Each class joined the opening ceremony with a procession around the track carrying flags and banners representing their school and allocated country. A torch relay featured pupils running around the stadium track alongside international athletes from a variety of sports. The final leg of the relay was run by Commonwealth gymnastics gold medallist Steve Frew, currently assisting the Youth Sports Trust to promote active participation in sport. Steve, who was born and brought up close to Grangemouth Stadium, thrilled pupils with a series of handsprings and backflips as he completed his lap.
Pupils then moved into mixed school groups to take part in a chosen sport for the day. These included a range of athletic activities, hockey, football, rugby, basketball, swimming, tennis, cheerleading and even Boccia, an official Olympic and Commonwealth para-sport something like French boules. This enabled the participation of pupils with additional support needs, as part of the Council’s inclusion policy.
This event was part of a whole-authority approach to transition from Primary to Secondary school and also a means of embedding Health and Wellbeing and Global Citizenship in the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. As part of the preparation, all schools were provided with a CfE planner offering them a range of resources and ideas for building on pupils learning. This encouraged pupils to learn about Commonwealth values, about their chosen country, about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and participation in physical activity. It made learning relevant, challenging, and fun.
Categories commonwealth, international
Thanks Mike & Nick really appreciate the support you have given us. I am sure you will enjoy the video when it is available. Gillian
I think this is a brilliant idea which I intend to pinch on a smaller scale with my associated primaries!
Thanks
Hi Morag, if you do go ahead with this in your cluster, please can you let us know how you get on. We are interested to hear from all schools involved in promoting Games Legacy work,
Mike Farrell
DO Developing Global Citizens,
Learning and Teaching Scotland