Primary pupils from across Erewash were given a day to remember at the University of Derby as part of an event organised by Erewash School Sport Partnership.
Children who are part of ESSP’s Gifted and Talented programme were invited to try out the state-of-the-art equipment at the university and take part in workshops run by university staff.
They visited the Sports Science laboratories at the university where they tested their reaction times and hand-eye co-ordination. They took part in football and a session about control, teamwork and co-ordination and were given a series of tasks to complete using a balloon.
Schools which took part included Longmoor Primary, Brooklands Primary, Sawley Junior, Firfield Primary, Ashbrook Junior, Shardlow Primary and Granby Junior.
Rhian Lilley, Erewash School Sport Partnership strategic director, said: “This is such a fantastic opportunity for primary pupils to get a taste of the kind of facilities that are on offer at university and it hopefully serves to raise their aspirations. The university staff help us to put on a varied and challenging programme for the children where they can really challenge and test themselves whilst learning new skills. We hope they have all enjoyed it and gone away feeling inspired.”
Dr Tom Outram, lecturer in biomechanics at the University of Derby, helped to organise the day.
He said: “During the football session they were asked to analyse each other’s performances and make observations before feeding back to the group. We asked them to keep balloons off the floor using a number of different methods and that was all about teamwork and co-ordination. In other sessions we also focused on flexibility and dynamic co-ordination. It was all about showing them the kinds of things they can do at university and allowing them to try out what we can offer.”

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