The main prize was a trip to Rio de Janeiro to watch some of the Paralympian Games. As a school the children, after completing any activity had to log onto the computer and enter the details. These details were converted to miles and the organisation to get the furthest won!  As you can imagine a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The competition is a huge boost to our children and school. For our children and indeed for many children this is a true, ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’. ‘Things like this don’t happen to schools like ours’, is just one of the comments that has been said to me by the parents. The competition was an opportunity for us to relate our school’s deep rooted Core Values to those of the Paralympics. The children were keen to take part in additional activity, and linking this to their health began to see many benefits. They have researched Paralympic events and adaptations and started to discover some of the many athletes and their stories, which are in many cases inspirational.

As a school we are planning to develop this even further before, during and after the trip. The children and staff who are going to Rio will be keeping the school, families and friends updated with Tweets, Vlogs and traditional phone calls. Following their return, we are going to use it as an opportunity for furthering the school’s knowledge and understanding of the games and making links with athletes met in Rio.

The children themselves are already building a large following on social media through Instagram, Twitter and You Tube, dedicated to their journey. The accounts will follow the children through videos and pictures sharing the inspirational stories of the athletes they meet and see. Over the next few weeks we hope to see followers rise through give aways and promotions, from local business and other sites on Facebook and Instagram. This will also have dual purpose: to spread the word and to advertise.

Sainsbury’s are the main sponsors of the competition, however Channel 4 are the lead TV station that will be promoting the games throughout the tournament.  Sainsburys are setting up a national press release at the start of September also as a school we are promoting it in the local press who have already run the story.

<font color="#212121">follow this link to the local press release</font>

www.leylandguardian.co.uk/news/local/girls-on-their-marks-for-rio-paralympics-1-8033889