HND Event Management students from Forth Valley College organised a multi-sporting event at a Comely Park Primary School in Falkirk recently – and even came up with an inspirational name for the activities.
The event called – ‘The Comelywealth Games - aimed to promote the ethos and ideals of both the Commonwealth Games and the Curriculum for Excellence, with the main focus on respect, diversity, fairness and equality. The games were created for primary five and seven classes at the school and took place on Friday 23 November 2018.
The classes were taken through an opening ceremony promoting the ideals of the Commonwealth Games, including citing the ‘Athletes Oath’. This was followed by four stations of sporting activities that are Commonwealth Games events including rugby, athletics, gymnastics and mixed martial arts.
As part of the closing ceremony, the children were given awards based on their participation and engagement on the day. These were Gold, Silver and Bronze and were awarded to Successful Learners, Effective Contributors, Confident Individuals and Responsible Citizens, in line with the aims of the Curriculum for Excellence.
Assisting the HND Events Management students to deliver the activities were the HND Sport Coaching students, who ran the four stations in operation. The event catered for more than 100 pupils and was helped by input from teachers Kimberly McGrow and James McGrath.
HND Event Management student Nicole Gillespie (20) said: “The Comelywealth Games has been an amazing opportunity for us as a class to take part in, as it has given us a chance to manage and organise a sporting event which otherwise wouldn’t have been part of our course. Tying the event with the Commonwealth Games made it more exciting for the kids taking part, with the chance for them to win awards. There was definitely a buzz on the day which made it all worthwhile.”
Sports Lecturer Paul Tannock said: “This was an excellent opportunity for the college to continue its strong relationship with the local community and Comely Park Primary. The HND Event Management students excelled with the design of the event and were brilliantly assisted by the Sports Coaching students, who delivered the stations on the day.
“It allowed them to get valuable real life experience and the children of Comely Park were a credit to their school with their engagement and enthusiasm for all activities on the day. We would like to thank Comely Park for their continual support and openness to partnership work with the college.”