Schools Case Studies
5X60 Programme Helps Raise Money For Ysgol Tre-Gib School
Date Added: Thu, 20 Jan 2011
Related tags: Funding Ideas, Community, Success Story
The first School in Wales where a 5x60 Officer has organised a Sponsored Fundraising Event to buy their own Indoor Rowers. When the word gets around others will want to do the same.
Ysgol Tre-Gib is a naturally bilingual 11-18 mixed comprehensive school set on a site alongside the River Towy on the outskirts of Llandeilo in West Wales. The man behind Indoor Rowing is Lyn Brodrick, their 5x60 officer. He knows Tre-Gib well as this was his school as a teenager.
Throughout Wales there are 218 secondary schools and 5x60 officers are in each of these schools to promote a wide range of sports and physical activity encouraging 60 minutes of activity a day from Monday to Friday. This joint Welsh Assembly Government and Sports Council for Wales initiative:
".. is set to change the way sport in schools throughout Wales is delivered and transform playing fields and sports hall into hubs of bustling activity from daybreak to nightfall."
Besides running the 5x60 programme at Tre-Gib, Lyn also looks after another secondary School in Llandovery, ten miles away.
5x60 officers listen to the needs of the pupils as well as coming up with solutions to the barriers that prevent them from taking part. So an annual timetable of activity is put together based on exactly what the pupils want. They are also keen to introduce winning health and fitness programmes in schools and communities that are successful in other parts of the UK - like Indoor Rowing.
The Concept 2 Indoor Rowers have been a hit for the lunchtime and afterschool clubs. Ysgol Tre-Gib is a school that had a strong Estyn Report (Welsh Ofsted) earlier this year. Inspectors noted the Indoor Rowing activity and were impressed at how this was addressing some of their priority concerns, one in particular refers to teenage girls that can't be motivated to engage with traditional PE and sports.
Rhwyfo ar draws y byd - Mae 150 o ddisgyblion 7, Ysgol Tre-Gib, Llandeilo yn Codi arian at ddwy elusen ActionAid ac Ark Noah. Eu bwriad ydy rhwyfo y pellter Cyfatebol ar beiriant rhwyfo.
Rowing around the World - 150 year 7 pupils from Ysgol Te-Gib, Llandeilo, are raising money for two Charities, ActionAid and Noah?s Ark. They plan to do this by rowing the equivalent distance around the world on rowing machines.
Lyn checked out the Sponsored Fundraising How to Framework last term and all of year 7 raised £1,800. Half of this is donated to charities that Tre-Gib support and the other half goes toward buying their own Indoor Rowers. £1,800 from one year group is an amazing result. His next Fundraising Event raising money for charity and Indoor Rowers will involve more year groups.
"The best thing I've ever down at School and Indoor Rowing is definitely here to stay." Jack - Year 7.
Lyn's Indoor Rowing plans in the next few months:
- Joining the Concept 2 Schools Challenge series
- Online motivational awards
- Entering the Welsh Schools Indoor Rowing Championships in Cardiff.
- Developing cross-curricular links and managing fitness development for everyone in the school each term. See the Alcester Grammar School case study
- Encouraging staff use (several already use the rowers) as part of 5X30 Sports Council for Wales, workplace health and fitness programme
There's also another first Tre-Gib. Lyn is fanatical on developing sports coaching talent from his sixth formers so eight students signed on for the Concept2 Instructor Course. This means he has support running Indoor Rowing Clubs in school and also links with the local primary feeders schools and Head teachers at two of these, Karen Jones (Llandeilo Primary) and Roy James (Ysgol Gymraeg Teilo Sant) are keen to involve their pupils from years 5/6. For the eight sixth formers it gives them opportunity to develop the leadership, build their strengths and commitment to healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and others. Being a C2 Rowing Instructor - well that's impressive and how would that look on your CV?
"Brilliant sense of achievement completing the training, its something I can now do to help younger year groups in school." Nia - sixth form.
Tre-Gib already makes its facilities available to the community. Indoor rowing is a resource that will add more to their offering and this strengthens partnership working. Rob Smith, Llandeilo's Dyfed-Powys Police Community Support Officer is a fitness fanatic and is keen to be involved. The Reverend Canon Roger Hughes, (Church in Wales), who lives locally, is a strong advocate of Indoor Rowing and has made his network of contacts available to promote Indoor Rowing in West Wales.
Lyn Brodrick and other staff work with the wider Llandeilo community. So Indoor Rowing will involve and be available to their local sports clubs, the GP exercise referral scheme and scout groups. The long-term plan is to develop activity around Indoor Rowing to make Llandeilo the healthiest and fittest town in Wales.
Lyn has the final comment:
"Indoor Rowing activity is contributing to raising fitness levels in our school. I've always wanted a way to measure fitness and now its here. I'm sold on the benefits it can bring"
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