Physical education boost

IMPROVED physical activity, learning and discipline and are some of the spin-offs of a nationwide schools programme called Move-It, Moving Matters. The initiative is being run at 120 public schools in South Africa and focuses on interventions to address the lack of physical education.

The programme, in which teachers are trained to coach pupils, was developed by Iconage Holdings in response to research which indicated more than half of South Africa's pupils were moderately active and about 1% sedentary.

It has been introduced to seven schools in Nelson Mandela Bay's New Brighton township, and at five of these schools the programme is sponsored by tyre manufacturing company Continental SA. At one of the beneficiaryschools, Ben Sinuka Primary, a significant change in pupils' physical activity has been seen since they started the programme last year.