News

Local kids kick-off to a healthier start

(1 November 2006)

Durham University has teamed up with Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community to offer local children the chance to get fit and active. Those taking part have the opportunity of a lifetime to receive their certificates at a Middlesbrough home game.

Over 70 kids from six different schools in the area attended two-day courses during the October half term, designed to promote and develop healthy lifestyles, physical activity and higher education. For the second year running the free course was offered as a reward to local children who have a keen interest in sport, health and fitness issues and who may want to take their interest to university level and beyond. Aged nine to eleven years old, the kids enjoyed a host of sporting activities at Durham University’s Queen’s Campus in Stockton. They took part in fitness testing, coaching, tours and classroom-based activities and also got an insight into university life. The course also included a behind-the-scenes tour at the Riverside Stadium to show how a Premiership football club runs on a daily basis. The tour was tailored to give the children an idea about the various roles within the club and future job prospects. Primary schools who took part included Pallister Park, Berwick Hills, Thorntree, Caldicotes, Corpus Christi, Brambles and Park End Primary School. Durham University Sports Development Officer, Steve Wright, said: “We are extremely proud of our partnership with Middlesbrough Football Club, as together we can offer local kids the chance to learn about sport and healthy lifestyles and also have a lot of fun at the same time! “All the kids really enjoyed themselves, the training days have certainly given them food for thought about sport and maybe thinking about going to university one day.” Total Fitness Leisure Club also supported the course, offering a morning’s use of its state-of-the-art ‘Kids Zone’. The children were able to try specially designed exercise machines tailored for young people. During November the pupils will return to Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium to be presented with a special certificate during the half time interval in front of crowds of up to 30,000 people. Queen's Campus, Stockton, is Durham University’s modern waterfront location in Stockton-on-Tees. Students can take advantage of a contemporary subject range, from Health and Human Sciences to Teacher Training. The Wolfson Research Institute based at the campus is home to around 90 staff and 20 research students working on research on health, medicine and the environment, and the links between them and is highly regarded as an expert in health-related research.