During the Spring Term, AVSSP have had the pleasure of working with British athlete and television personality Zack George, otherwise known as STEEL from the hit BBC TV show – Gladiators
Zack joined us in partnership with Amber Valley Borough Council & Derbyshire County Council Public Health to deliver his inspiring and uplifting story to our schools in Amber Valley. As well as sharing his very own tailored programme, Zactive, which has been created to help children become more active, hydrated and grow in confidence. One school he visited was St Johns CofE Primary School and Nursery in Ripley.
The students at St Johns were thrilled to be visited by “that strong man from the telly” (reception student, aged 5) in their own school hall! Zack delivered a fantastic speech about the importance of staying positive, confident and happy within yourself. He shared his story form being a young boy who always dreamed of being a Gladiator to becoming the incredibly fit, healthy, strong and well-known Gladiator Steel.
Prior to STEEL’s visit to Woodbridge Junior in Alfreton, Headteacher Emma Hanson said:
“Excitement is building up in the staffroom at Woodbridge as the day of Steel’s visit gets closer. We are keeping it a secret from the children and we can’t wait to see their faces on Wednesday. Woodbridge children dressed up as Gladiators for Children in Need last November and created their own Gladiator names, so they will be ultra-excited when they realise that a real one is actually in their school assembly. Steel’s story of aspiration, hard work and looking after your health and wellbeing will be inspirational for our young people as well as giving everyone a much needed boost to beat the January blues. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this programme”
Zack wanted to educate the students he visited on the 5 main things of Zactive which are:
- Healthy balance eating
- Exercise
- Confidence
- Mindset
- Hydration
In every school he visited, Zack brought with him enough water bottles for each child to instil his vital message to stay hydrated!
Following STEEL’s visit each identified school received a FREE five session Health & Wellbeing programme courtesy of Amber Valley School Sport Partnership – one of our most popular educational programmes – the interactive sessions aim to increase knowledge and understanding of the importance of healthy bodies and healthy minds with five key stands – Hydration, Sugars, Balance Diet, Energy & Fats & Mental wellbeing through kindness.
The sessions linked closely to Zack’s messaging and helped to carry on his positive impact in each school.
The children and staff in our schools loved having Zack in and we, at AVSSP, can’t thank him enough for his willingness to visit several schools with us and share his stories. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Zack and we are looking forward to having him back soon! 💙
Schools were selected using local insight data obtained by Active Derbyshire and to represent a range of communities – AVSSP were able to support Zack to visit:
- Coppice Primary School (Heanor)
- Crich Junior School (Crich)
- Herbert Strutt Primary School (Belper)
- Ironville & Codnor Park Primary School (Ironville)
- Milford Primary School (Milford)
- Somerlea Park Junior School (Somercotes)
- St Johns Primary School & Nursery (Ripley)
- Woodbridge Junior School (Alfreton)
