Through effective partnership working with Active Schools, final year BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching students from RGU worked with more than 2,000 pupils from 13 primary schools in Aberdeen on November 7 as part of FUNdamental Movement Day.

The students focused on using playground games to create physical activity opportunities that would enhance fundamental movement skills and encourage them to play more and move more.

Fourth year student Chloe Watson said: “It was a great day experiencing how to manage a fundamental fun day for the children of Aberdeen and it has allowed me to gain experience and give me an insight into my ultimate aim of becoming a primary teacher.

“The day was full of surprises and each session had to be adapted to suit the class needs which has allowed me to develop more as a person and coach. This experience was outstanding in helping align academic teaching into my practice.”

Sport coaching lecturer Thomas Craig said the events, which took place within the different schools, had been positive for the pupils as well as the students.

Thomas said: “I managed to visit all of the schools on the day and the most apparent aspect was the wall of noise with kids having fun whilst participating in physical activity. For various reasons including a loss of green space and accessibility, a number of children lack fundamental movement skills and experiences like jumping, throwing, catching and climbing and our aim was to provide this opportunity with our Active Schools partners at Sport Aberdeen. Importantly, it provided our students with a real life experience that added value to the community, and this is something we’d like to continue and grow in the future.

“RGU and Sport Aberdeen previously managed the Aberdeen Youth Games which fell victim to Covid-19 closures, and we’ve been keen to contribute to a model that supports school pupils with minimal funding.

“Our placement partnerships with Sport Aberdeen, Active Schools Aberdeenshire and individual schools, together with innovative and collaborative events such as the November FUNdamental Movement Days provide us with the opportunity to contribute to our local community utilising both staff and student expertise.”

Sarah Fraser, Lead Active Schools Coordinator at Sport Aberdeen, added: “It was fantastic to have RGU Sport Coaching students out to deliver curricular sessions to 13 primary schools. It was a great opportunity for schools and we hope that we can build on this for next year.”