Last week we launched ‘Our Games, Our Values’ which is a free resource for primary schools in South West England, inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Values.
I've worked with five Bath Spa Uiversity History students to develop the resource over the last 18 months. It contains ten activities that celebrate local, ‘South West’ links with the Games. It creates opportunities for children to learn about elite athletes who train here, local artists who have been inspired by the Games and important local people, such as Hodgson Pratt, who have played key roles in the modern Olympic Games.
It's been quite a complicated project. The students did a lot of research before they came up with the activities, which we decided should be practical, creative and adaptable. They sought advice from education professionals and piloted the activities in four local primary schools. We worked with a designer to produce the pack. The students also created PowerPoint presentations to accompany the activities which involved sourcing images and content and obtaining the appropriate permissions.
The launch event was hosted by the Vice-Chancellor at Bath Spa University and Rt. Hon. Don Foster MP, who both made lovely speeches about the project.
I've enjoyed working with the same group of students for 18 months. They had just begun their 2nd year when I met them and they're now very close to graduating. I've got to know them individually and it's been lovely to see them grow in confidence. Taking part has inspired several of them to become teachers once they graduate which is a fantastic legacy.
The resource is available online on the RELAYS website.
