Schoolchildren clock up valuable miles and fresh air on Racing to School days

The education charity Racing to School is committed to inspiring young minds through unique learning activity days at racing venues nationwide.

One recent innovation has been to track young people’s exercise as they explore every corner of a racecourse, learning about the sport and applying school subjects such as maths, literacy, science and social history – all within the confines of a new, colourful and fast-moving classroom. For the majority of young people, these days are their first experience of the sport of horseracing, as they discover how a day at the races is put together and the importance of measurements, distances and teamwork for the sport to function.

By using Fitbits, provided by donor, John Pearce Racing, the charity’s young beneficiaries can now calculate that on average they are racking up 4,000 steps and over three kilometres as they take part in the curriculum-based day of activity.

“With schools resuming after half term, we were keen to highlight that exercise and fresh air is always guaranteed on a Racing to School day – come rain or shine,” said the charity’s CEO John Blake.

“Our programme is designed to support interactive group activity, mainly outdoors and alongside the running of a raceday. While some racecourses offer more of a walking challenge than others, we can always promise our school groups some healthy exercise.

“With the most recent National Child Measurement Programme, England, reporting an obesity rate of almost 24% in Year 6 children aged 10 and 11, we believe the charity’s work can support schools in their efforts to support the health of their young people.”