Houguette pupils shine and stay on their feet
THE Bailiwick’s primary school children are more active than their UK counterparts, according to research undertaken by the Health Improvement Commission using wearable activity monitors.
Almost 800 pupils across 11 primary schools took part in a survey earlier this year using Moki fitness trackers – a faceless wristband which records the number of steps taken and levels of moderate to vigorous activity during the day.
For the purposes of the survey, activity was measured for two days, and the data was then compared against 13 schools in the UK which participated in the same study.
Bailiwick pupils were found to be 23% more active than the Moki average, with boys 22% more active and girls 26% more active.
Pupils were also active for an average of 35 minutes a day while in school, above the recommended 30 minutes.
This average rose to 42 minutes for Year 5 pupils.
Additionally, Bailiwick schools ranged between 6,030 and 8,232 steps during the school day, in comparison with UK Moki schools, which ranged between 4,000 and 8,000.
One stand-out school locally was La Houguette, where the results of last year's Year 5 were shared this week.
Be Active lead Alun Williams said the commission had found the research to be helpful, and was particularly pleased at the suggestions the pupils themselves had for ways to be active during the school day.
‘An environment for children to play helps, and La Houguette has plenty of space for that, so a lot of the suggestions centred around how to best make use of that space through games and other activities,’ he said.
Active travel officer Alex Costen added that activity spaces were often easy to access locally, while initiatives such as the school's walking bus encouraged active travel.
La Houguette PE lead Adele Prince said the school's rural location made it easier to promote cycling and walking, with a range before and after-school clubs on offer.
Bernie Comeskey and Theo Le Cheminant, both 10, said that they had enjoyed participating in the survey.
‘I think the most steps I did in a day was about 30,000, I just really like to run around and play games in the playground,’ Bernie said.
Theo added: ‘We do something active almost every break time, running from one end of the playground to the other or using the monkey bars. It’s great fun.'
