In a bid to keep pupils active, and maintain communications during lockdown, teachers at Vernon Primary School in Poynton challenged their Year Three students to run the distance of a marathon between them.

The children were challenged to each run 500m doing laps of their garden or cover the distance as part of their daily exercise. The remaining distance was then run by their teachers: Mrs Mowat, Mrs Wilson and Miss Cassidy. The pupils were emailed a baton picture which they could print and hold onto whilst completing their laps. They were then asked to take photos of themselves at the start and end of their run, to simulate passing the baton onto the next pupil. Now the challenge is complete, the teachers have made a slideshow of all the images to celebrate the Vernon Year Three marathonwhich they have shared with the pupils on their website.

Mrs Mowat, Year Three teacher at Vernon Primary School, said:

“We knew lockdown would be a challenging time, so we wanted to come up with an initiative to keep the children active. It also gave us the opportunity to maintain communication during these uncertain times, which is vital for ensuring the wellbeing of everyone. With what should have been the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics, we thought some sporting fun would be a great way to get the childreninvolved and inspired.”