Greenfield Community College have recently installed a state-of-the-art fitness suite. The ambitious project saw an outlay of £25,000 which will create an additional area that will have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and community. Following a difficult period with the COVID-19 pandemic it was something that, as a school, we decided to prioritise opportunities for pupils to increase their levels of activity, fitness levels and physical and mental wellbeing and we fully believe that this fantastic facility will be able to do this.
Without the support of local businesses, it wouldn’t have been possible. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Howdens Newton Aycliffe Branch, Gestamp Tallent Ltd Aycliffe Plant and Trade Glass Newton Aycliffe, all of whom supported the fitness suite, alongside additional funding from County Durham Sport and internal school funds.
The facility will support our thriving extra-curricular sports programme in which over 60% of our KS3 pupils are currently engaged in. Following half term, for the first time, we are launching a fitness session before school starts which has already seen a really strong sign up across all year groups.
Martin Butterworth added “I firmly believe that we as a PE department have a responsibility to promote regular physical activity, wellbeing and lifelong learning of the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. This state-of-the-art fitness suite will significantly contribute towards this ambition’. The newly installed fitness suite comes on the back of a recent award to Greenfield Community College PE Department, the Association for Physical Education (afPE) Quality Mark with Distinction for PE and School Sport, the highest accolade possible.
“Within this award, our curriculum was singled out for praise acknowledging breath and balance and this will only accentuate the offer that our pupils get during their time at Greenfield”.
The PE Department becomes one of only 7 schools in the North-East to have received the highest accolade since the programme started in 2012.
Pictured is Martin Butterworth (Subject Leader for PE), Paul James (GESTAMP) Caroline Smith and Lorna Jackson (Howdens) alongside David Priestley (Executive Headteacher) at the opening of the fitness suite. Greenfield Community College are committed to supporting students to reach their full potential. The school promotes an inclusive curriculum encouraging students to work together to realise an outstanding learning experience. If you would like further information visit www.greenfieldschool.net or contact the school by emailing contact@greenfieldschool.net or by calling 01325 300378.