THE first two events of the Burnley School Sport Partnerships’ programme have taken place over the last fortnight.

First up was the Year Five and Six ‘participation run’ where more than 200 children aged from nine to 11-years-old got the chance to pull on their running shoes but without the pressure of racing.

The aim of the event was to try to encourage children to be more active and enjoy sports, in the hope that they develop a lifelong love for physical activity and, in turn, lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

The race took place at Towneley Park, and despite the muddy conditions the young runners managed to complete the one mile course with 99 girls and 144 boys from the borough’s 25 schools all taking part.

“This helps to show the great impact that the race had, and hopefully helps improve the lifestyle of the children,” said School Games Organiser Helen Tyson.

The following week saw the Year Two fun run where the focal point was on getting as many youngsters as possible involved in keeping fit and healthy.

The course was 0.75 miles, and despite the heavy conditions the runners managed to complete the course in a very respectable time.

A total of 197 children from 20 schools participated and organisers hailed it as another massive success.

“The races are a fantastic way of showing the children that they can enjoy exercise,” added Tyson.

“After the race a lot of the children were commenting on how they had enjoyed themselves and didn’t walk the course!

“Hopefully it helps to get involved in more sport at school, or continue if they already are.”

Burnley School Sport Partnership aims to increase participation in children’s sport.

BSSP is part of the School Games programme, which is a unique opportunity to motivate and inspire millions of young people across the country to take part in more competitive school sport.

The School Games is made up of four levels of activity: competition in schools, between schools, and at a county/area level.

The Games have a strong inclusive element to them, giving more opportunity to young disabled people. Each area has a designated School Games organiser, and Burnley’s has recently been shown to be in the top 10 per cent of the entire country.

The borough has a busy school sporting calendar and Tyson added: “We are now looking forward to the competitions for the rest of the school year, with plenty on offer such as mini tennis, hi-5 netball, tag rugby and orienteering to name a few.

“The School Games competitions are qualifiers for Lancashire School Games day, which is hosted in Blackpool and has hundreds of children of various ages, competing in a variety of sports on the day as well as plenty of entertainment on offer.”