User:Schools500Games/Schools 500 Programme

=Schools 500 Programme= The Schools 500 programme is an umbrella programme for young people across Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is part of the London 2012 Olympic Legacy scheme. It is inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic Games and aims to improve opportunities for young people in 5 key areas:


 * 1) Opportunities for learning.
 * 2) Creating a strong, vibrant community of schools developing the Newcastle School Sports Association.
 * 3) Increase the opportunities for participation in cultural and sports activities that will impact on standards of literacy and numeracy as well as behaviour and attendance.
 * 4) Improve the health and fitness of the school community.
 * 5) For all young people to be active participants in a global community.

The programme was awarded the Inspire Mark by LOCOG in February 2011 which means it has been genuinely inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, uses the Olympic and Paralympic values and has been judged to be innovative and exciting.

At the beginning of the Olympic Games in London 2012, over 10,000 children will have participated in Schools 500 activities and programmes.

Schools 500 Games
The Schools 500 Games is an annual multi-sport event which is in its second year. In 2011, nearly 4000 children competed in the Games and this figure is expected to reach over 5000 in the 2012 Games which will run from 5th to the 8th of July. The Games are held in an Olympic style and incorporate prestigious opening and closing ceremonies, medals tables and 38 sports. This year’s event aims to break the record for the largest ever single-authority, multi-sport event to be held in the UK.

Gold Challenge
The Gold Challenge aspect of the Schools 500 programme sees teams of young people competing in a variety of sports to raise money for the children’s charity COCO, founded by North-East Olympian Steve Cram. The charity uses healthcare initiatives to improve the lives of children in developing countries. The 2012 challenge began with a launch event on Wednesday 1st February. Over 7000 children signed up, a record number, each with a fundraising target of £20.12. Participants also got the change to take part in a special 100m at the first licensed test event of the Olympic Stadium in London, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. The challenge will conclude on Wednesday 4th July with a charity fun run at Newcastle Race Course.

Enterprise 500
The enterprise competition will see teams of students designing and creating a prototype product which is linked to the Olympic Values and creating their own advert on DVD. The competition is organised by Enterprise in Learning Co-ordinator, Gillian Parker. The project will annually allow 1,200 pupils to sit on boards of directors for their own company, produce business plans, bid for funding, develop and market the product and ultimately sell their product.

Media Launch
The press launch for the programme took place on the 2nd of February and was sponsored by Science City. It was attended by a host of accomplished athletes – Sally Gunnell, Steve Cram, Allison Curbishley, Stephen Miller, Fab Flournoy and Chris Cook. After taking part in a meet and greet with the press, the athletes toured around 20 schools in the city to meet participating pupils and give talks about their sporting experiences in a series of assemblies.

The schools visited on the day were; St George’s Primary School, English Martyrs School, Sir Charles Parson School, Westerhope School, Byker Primary School, Gosforth Central Middle School, Hotspur Primary, All Saints School, Chillingham Road School, Sacred Heart School (Upper School), Heaton Manor School, St Mary’s School, Beech Hill Primary School, Welbeck School, Canning Street Primary School, St Charles Primary, Kenton School, West Walker Primary School, Westgate Hill Primary School, Walbottle Campus and Excelsior Academy.

Mascots
The official mascot for the Schools 500 Games is ‘Speedy the Dog’. The Gold Challenge and COCO charity also have their own mascot, ‘George the Giraffe’.

Quotes
"“The Newcastle Schools 500 event is just the sort of programme we envisaged taking place when we began planning our Olympic Legacy Campaign. Thousands of young people taking part in a range of Olympic and Paralympic activities will showcase the athletic talent I know exists in Newcastle.” – ‘’Lord Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee’’"

"“The Schools 500 Programme, which was designed to raise awareness of and inspire the children of Newcastle to become involved in Olympic themed events, has now reached a point in its development that will ensure that it can influence the lives of every single child in Newcastle.” – ‘’Dave Johnson, 2012 Legacy and Development Officer, Newcastle School Improvement Service’’"

"“I’ve travelled the country a lot and it’s one of the best schemes I’ve seen for trying to buy into the Olympic legacy” – ‘’Steve Cram, former Olympic athlete and founder of children’s charity COCO, speaking on ITV’s Look North, 1st of April 2012’’"