Sugar tax pays for running tracks
Source: Shropshire Star
Date: 13-December-2018
Running tracks are to be built at 15 primary schools – made from recycled roads. Funding for the tracks at the schools in Shropshire to help children stay fit, have come from the Government’s ’sugar tax‘. Construction of the first track is underway at Criftins Primary School near Ellesmere, with the remaining 14 tracks due to be completed by the end of March 2019. They will be tracks constructed from 1500 tonnes of recycled Shropshire roads.
In total, 4000 children are set to benefit from the project, which will enable each child to walk or run a total of 285km in each academic year, at a cost of just £1.30 per pupil per year.
The idea for the tracks came about earlier this year when Shropshire Council received £226,572 from the Healthy Pupils Capital Funds funded through the ‘sugar tax’ grant. Of the total grant, £105,000 was set aside to provide school running tracks – to help children get involved in The Daily Mile, by jogging or running for 15 minutes every day.
Nick Bardsley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services, said: “The schools who will be receiving the tracks have embraced the project and are looking forward to realising and assessing the health and educational learning benefits they will bring for their pupils, both in terms of physical and mental well-being.”
Other schools to get the tracks are Oakmeadow, Bayston Hill, Church Preen, Cockshutt CE, Cressage, Highley Community Primary School, Kinnerley, Market Drayton Infant and Junior Schools, Lower Heath, Shifnal, Harlescott Junior School, St George’s Junior School, Shrewsbury, Wem and Woore.
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