NEW sport sessions at a North Tyne school are helping to enrich the lives of its pupils.

Bellingham Middle School has introduced an ‘enrichment programme’ to its curriculum, with the lifetime fitness scheme complementing the traditional PE lessons.

The programme is split into three areas, science and technology, drama and theatre and fitness, and the latter is proving a big hit with pupils with the largest uptake among the children.

Aimed at all of the school’s Key Stage 3 pupils, the sessions will vary in subject and sports regularly to offer more options than what they would usually do in PE.

Starting with fitness circuits, the children will move to four weeks of basketball with geocaching and orienteering, tennis, handball and badminton some of the other activities to be rolled out.

The school is also forging links with the North-East’s professional sports teams, with Newcastle United Football Club’s foundation already confirmed to come in for sessions in the coming weeks.

Michael Charlton, a senior leader at Bellingham, is spearheading the programme, and has been impressed with the pupils’ attitude and enthusiasm in taking on new sports.

He said: “We’re trying to offer different activities to what the children are used to. Some of the things we will introduce, such as geocaching and rock climbing, are what they are not getting exposed to. The whole focus is to give them an experience of activities that they can do outside of school, especially when there’s not too many opportunities up here.

“Some of those doing this course aren’t too interested in PE or sports, but they are enthusiastic with this programme as it is wider ranging and provides something different, and that is the main reason we brought it in.”

With the different sports and activities planned to last four weeks each, the sessions themselves are even being split up.

It is not all about fitness and getting active, and some sessions will be wholly designated as skill based.

Mr Charlton said: “It is getting the children active in ways they are not used to, but it is also instilling good practices ahead of adult life.

“It seems to be working well and the children are responding very well to it, and hopefully the more children getting involved will make it even more successful.

“When we did the options, we had to cut the numbers down in the fitness sessions because we had 70 children signed up. But we did offer first and second choices.”