Schoolchildren from the Mansfield area joined together for a celebration of sporting achievements they’ve enjoyed with students at West Nottinghamshire College.

Over the last academic year, Level 3 sports students have been leading and coaching youngsters through a range of sporting activities, both in schools and at the college’s sports hall.

From September 2016, the students, who are all studying the NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Supporting the Delivery of Physical Education and School Sport have been delivering weekly fitness and games sessions to primary schools in connection with the national Change4Life campaign.

Change4Life aims to inspire local authorities, businesses, charities, schools and families, to play a part in improving the nation’s health and wellbeing by encouraging better exercise and diet.

This week, pupils from St Philip Neri with St Bede Catholic Voluntary Academy, Intake Farm Primary School and Forest Town Primary School, visited the college to take part in an Olympic themed round of games and an end-of-year presentation to celebrate their efforts this year.

The group of 30 children, aged from eight to ten, joined in one last fun session of games at West Nottinghamshire College which included mini hurdles, a triathlon, javelin throwing, penalty shoot-out, tennis target, standing long jump, hockey dribbling and balance on the gymnastics beam.

Games were followed by a presentation of achievement certificates and medals by the students who have spent the last academic year coaching the youngsters, watched by school teaching staff.

Sport and coaching tutor Rachael Evans said: “It’s been a very eventful year for our students in their coaching of schoolchildren. We’ve held a number of in-college festivals as the children have progressed and it’s given the students amazing confidence going into schools to tailor these programmes.

“We’ve worked with Mansfield school games organiser, Nicky Biggs, since September to deliver more activities around Change4Life in line with the school curriculum and I truly feel we’ve achieved this.

“The children have shown such enthusiasm for the different kinds of exercise and sport and our own students have improved their coaching and advisory techniques along the way.

Sport student Sharnnie Wagstaffe, 18, said: “Events like this have helped improve our skills massively, by taking the theory from the classroom into practical real-life coaching.”