London Skolars Community Department have recently been working with local Haringey School Woodside Secondary to deliver a new After School Project which focuses on building a Healthy Body & Healthy Mind for the pupils.

Delivered across 3 different afternoons in the week, the project uses London Skolars core values and Rugby League as a vehicle to encourage the pupils to change certain aspects of their lifestyles to lead a healthier and happier life at home and at school.

Led by London Skolars Community Apprentice Aston Stephenson the afternoons are moulded around 3 Key Areas. Monday is focused on Rugby Skills & Values where the pupils are put through their paces and introduced to a new sport. Tuesday evenings are all about Athletic Development and the circuit sessions work on different aspects of athleticism that can be beneficial across lots of sports that many of the pupils participate in.

Thursday sees the pupils take part in the ‘Creative’ aspect of the week, which allows the London Skolars staff to really explore lots of different ways to open the pupil’s minds and get them to experience many different things. So far on the programme the pupils have taken part in a Spinning Class, completed a Yoga Session and partaken in a ‘Healthy Eating Class’ hosted by London Skolars sponsors Chiquen, in this session the pupils learnt about nutritional value of produce, how to cook healthier and what food they should look to avoid to keep themselves healthy.

Community Development Manager Matt Cuss spoke of the project and how delighted he was at the impact it was having on the pupils ‘we came up with the idea of the project a while back whilst looking at other ways we could use the London Skolars brand and values to have a positive impact upon our local Community, we approached a few funders and were lucky enough to work with Woodside to gain the funding required to deliver the project on such a large scale.’

Cuss continued ‘the numbers started fantastically and have gradually increased week on week, and the children’s reaction has been superb, they are enthusiastic, engaged and always excited to try the various activities that we have on offer to them. Everything that we have thrown at them they have jumped into with two feet and it’s been fantastic to see their reactions to the new activities that they would have never have had the chance to try before.’  Aston’s relationship with the children is wonderful, and the way in which he leads the sessions has had a direct impact upon the success and the numbers that we are attracting to the project. He is such a positive role model for the children and we hope that they are learning lots from his expertise.’

Projects like these really reinforce Skolars commitment to not just being a sports club, but also striving to be a local leader in providing interventions and opportunities for young people within Haringey and its surrounding boroughs, helping the young people to make changes to their lifestyle and have a positive effect within the community.