Sir Mo Farah might have four Olympic gold medals and six world championship triumphs to his name...but Britain’s most successful modern-day track athlete put himself to a new test when he was quizzed by a pupil at Hermitage Primary in Helensburgh during the school’s annual Health Week.
Sir Mo, who plans to defend his 10,000m Olympic title at the rescheduled Tokyo Games next year, was just one of the inspiring athletes who took part in a Q&A via video link.
It was part of a week-long series of creative challenges promoting physical, mental and emotional wellbeing among both pupils and staff at Hermitage.
Former Hermitage pupil Anne Young, who currently plays rugby for Scotland ladies, enjoyed the opportunity to take questions; her answers making clear how much she feels sport has benefitted her life, while Glasgow Warriors and Scotland rugby player Ruairidh Jackson gave the pupils what turned out to be his last interview before announcing his retirement from international rugby.
But it fell to P3 pupil Danny to put Sir Mo on the spot with a question about how he dealt with feeling nervous before events.
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Danny said afterwards: “I was so surprised when he said my name - I couldn’t speak.
“It made me feel at lot better about getting nervous because Mo said nerves are a good thing and he still gets nervous too.
“He said he remembers all the practice he has done and it makes him feel better.”
Health Week has become a much loved feature of the school calendar and not even a pandemic could stop staff reaching the high expectations set.
Showcasing their work through multimedia platforms pupils demonstrated their learning in everything from martial arts to mindfulness.
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During the week pupils and staff had set themselves the joint challenge of “moving 500 miles” in any way they could, whether walking, running, cycling or skipping – or in one case even by kayak!
All miles were accumulated at the end of the week to reveal the combined total of 1,314 miles had been achieved.
This feat was celebrated by the school joining together at their weekly online virtual assembly to sing a specially adapted version of The Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”.
Health Week culminated with a whole school sports day.
Traditionally pupils would have been competing on the sports pitch for house points in order to win the Sports Day shield; this year the challenges took place virtually but the hunger to win was just as ferocious.
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United through their school houses pupils worked together with each house trying to win the coveted shield.
Staff uploaded challenges daily to the school’s online learning platforms, allowing pupils to film themselves competing and gain house points. Excitement and suspense built throughout the week until the points were totalled and Jupiter emerged as the victorious house.
Pupils also benefitted from a Q&A session with inspiring athletes.
Reflecting on the success of Health Week, the school’s head teacher, Elspeth Davis, said: “It was absolutely amazing to see what could be done and achieved in our Health Week away from school.
“The energy and engagement of the children throughout the school was fantastic and credit must go to them and their supportive families for getting behind Health Week with such enthusiasm.
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“We were particularly grateful to the three athletes for taking the time to support us. Their contributions inspired our pupils and will be remembered for a long time.”
Staff at Hermitage, and all Helensburgh and Lomond’s other schools, were back in the classroom last week to begin preparations for a ‘phased return’ on August 11.
Looking back on the challenges of spending more than two months in lockdown and away from normal classes, Mrs Davis added: “Being away from school has not been easy for anyone but the families and staff at Hermitage Primary have risen to the challenges it has brought.
“Learning, in all its richness, continues to a high standard in our school through our online learning platforms and my thanks go to the dedicated staff team and all our families for their commitment to this through this period.”
Staff and pupils are now looking forward to another ‘focus week’ in June - this time on an eco theme.
READ MORE: Catch up with all the latest news headlines from across Helensburgh and Lomond here
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