Students from Bath Spa University have developed a free resource to help primary schools teach young children about the Olympic and Paralympic Games; with a unique focus on Bath and the south west of England.
 
The 5 history students have prepared ten practical activities designed to be fun, creative and educational. The activities provide opportunities for pupils to learn about the Olympic values, Greek mythology, cultural differences between countries competing and local athletes.
 
The students visited a local primary school to pilot a selection of the activities and have sought advice from education professionals. The next phase of the project will involve the students working with a designer to bring their ideas to life. The resource will then be piloted further in local schools before it will be made available free of charge to primary schools across the region in 2012.
 
Bath Spa University student Jade Lewis explained, “Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in this country provides a tremendous opportunity to inspire young people. Sometimes history can be taught in a way that’s a bit dull and uninspiring, so we wanted to do something different to help bring young people in the south west closer to the Games”.
 
The initiative has been awarded the Inspire Mark, which recognises and supports outstanding projects taking place around the UK that are providing new opportunities for young people and their communities as a result of the Games.
 
The project is supported by RELAYS and Team West of England, but has been fully led by the students themselves. RELAYS is a London 2012 legacy project based in universities across the south west that aims to inspire young people to volunteer, try new sports and be creative. It is funded by Legacy Trust UK and HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council for England).