Monday 13 April 2015
2015 World Gymnastics Championships Ambassador, Beth Tweddle MBE, Britain’s most successful gymnast, joined young gymnasts at the Glasgow School of Sport today, to launch new schools resource packs which will be used to encourage pupils across the country to learn more about the sport and the championships.
The innovative packs, developed by Glasgow Life, supported by Glasgow City Council Education and other education professionals, provide a set of key learning resources aimed at primary and secondary school teachers and children, to give them an understanding of this exciting world class sporting event coming to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow later this year (23 October-1 November 2015). The packs have also been endorsed by both British and Scottish Gymnastics.
The primary pack has a specific focus on how gymnastics is linked to the curriculum for excellence, including literacy, maths and numeracy, health and wellbeing, expressive arts and social subjects. There are competitions for pupils to enter with prizes for the winning entry and their class mates.
The secondary resource encourages students to undertake a range of related research projects covering the history of the championships and key areas including equipment, rules, event management and the wider impact of events on tourism.
The schools packs are part of the event organisers’ commitment to developing a legacy from hosting the World Championships and encouraging more young people to take up the sport of gymnastics as part of an active, healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, it is the first time that special schools resources have been produced that link to a Glasgow based event.
The resources can be used by any teacher across the UK and with the school summer term starting next week, it is the perfect time for teachers to download the relevant pack and use it as a creative teaching resource between now and the start of the championships. It can be found on the event website.
Whilst designed with schools in mind, the packs are also suitable for use by gymnastics clubs and other community organisations.
Proud to be launching the schools pack, Beth Tweddle MBE said: “Getting more young people involved in gymnastics is something I am very passionate about. It is a great sport, with so many skills that are the foundation of other sports and activities and I believe all children should have the opportunity to take part in it at school.
“These new schools resource packs are a great way to provide support for teachers and give them some exciting ways to work with pupils to explore the many aspects of the sport and the World Championships, not only during PE lessons but right across the curriculum.”
Also supporting the new initiative is Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Adam Cox. Adam, recently retired from gymnastics, is a qualified teacher with experience of both primary and secondary sectors and knows first-hand the benefit the new resources will be to teachers.
Adam Cox said: “As a former gymnast I have loved sharing my experiences with the pupils at the schools I have taught at and encouraging them to try out the sport for themselves. However this pack enables all teachers, including non-PE specialists, to use gymnastics as an exciting topic across a range of curriculum areas.
“Finding out more about the sport will hopefully inspire lots more young people to attend the event and cheer on the very best gymnasts in the world who are coming to Glasgow. I know just how important the home support was to me during Glasgow 2014, spurring the Team Scotland gymnasts on to win lots of medals.”
Visit the Schools Resources section of the website to download each pack.