Launch of Moray Mile exercise initiative for primary pupils

An initiative is to be launched next week to ensure that children in primary schools across Moray keep fit and active by taking exercise on a daily basis.

Schools are signing up to the Moray Mile which will see pupils taking part in 15 to 20 minute sessions of outdoor physical activity each day.

Some schools in Moray already have their own regimes which help to keep youngsters fit and healthy but the new Moray Mile initiative will encourage even more to embrace daily outdoor activity.

Research has shown that regular exercise is not only good for a child’s health and wellbeing, it can also result in improved behaviour and attainment in the classroom.

Moray Mile is being launched in response to the success of a similar programme introduced at a primary school in Stirling several years ago and which has been hailed as an example of best practice in terms of the benefits to children’s health and fitness.

Moray Council’s physical education lead officer, Derek Shepherd, said: “Evidence tells us that pupils who take part in daily physical exercise perform much better in school than those who do not.

“What better way can there be to raise attainment than by enjoying fresh air and exercise at the same time.

“Many of our primary schools in Moray already have daily exercise sessions but we hope that all will adopt a routine of giving pupils 15 to 20 minutes of outdoor activity every day of the school year.”

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.