Physical Education and Sports and Exercise third year students worked in groups to plan and manage the after school sports club activities for 74 pupils from St Thomas's Catholic Primary School, thanks to funding from the Kent 20in12 initiative.

Both students and pupils received recognition of their involvement at events held last week, with the primary pupils receiving folders with certificates of participation.

Canterbury Christ Church student Nick Dunn said: “It was clear to see how much enjoyment the children got from taking part in the activities we organised. They were intent on improving their scores and wanted big points for their teams.”

Kirsty Ager, also a student at Canterbury Christ Church, said: “Participating and delivering a practical session as part of the Kent 20in12 programme has not only given me more experience teaching different age groups, but has also given the children a greater knowledge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The Kent 20in12 initiative aims to create a range of opportunities to inspire and capture the imagination of young people through the delivery of activities linked to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The students worked together to develop activities and then recorded the personal and group bests of the pupils over five weeks; encouraging them to improve on their performance each week.

The University students created the feel of the Olympic Games by grouping the children into countries, asking them to carry their country’s flag from one activity to another and inviting them to participate in a series of physical activities based on Olympic events.

Dr Gemma Van Vuuren Cassar, Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, led the programme. She said: “The children were enthused and inspired to take part in the activities. They were keen to do their best, and demonstrated a very strong value of judgement, fairness and honesty throughout.

“The project has enabled our students to get firsthand experience of a learning support project and the exciting and valuable journey involved in the planning, leading and evaluating of innovative learning experiences. This has been a very rewarding project for all those involved.”