Presentations have been held at Corton and Pakefield Primary Schools to recognise their achievements in the month-long Beat the Street competition.
The competition ran from 22nd June to 21st July and saw Lowestoft residents set the challenge of walking, cycling or running 150,000 miles. By the end of the competition, players had responded enthusiastically, travelling a grand total of 161,421 miles.
Beat the Street was commissioned by Lowestoft Rising, comprising Suffolk County Council, Waveney District Council, Suffolk Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office and HealthEast (CCG) together with the voluntary sector.
In total, 12,786 people took part in Beat the Street Lowestoft, helping to release £3,000 donated by Lowestoft Rising to local good causes.
Pakefield Primary School were the winners of the overall leaderboard with more than 363,000 points and a total of 19,550 miles. They also came second on the average points leaderboard.
They received a trophy plus a cheque for £500 for the school and £500 for their chosen charity the British Heart Foundation. They also received a further £300 for the school plus £300 for the British Heart Foundation for coming second on the average points leaderboard.
Corton Primary School won the average points leaderboard with 1471 average points —more than double of their next competitor.
Head teacher Nicola Rowland accepted a trophy on behalf of Corton Primary School from Veronica Reynolds from Intelligent Health, who ran the Beat the Street scheme.
The school also received a cheque for £500 for their own use plus a cheque for £500 to donate to their chosen charity Help an East Coast Child. The school also came second on the overall points leaderboard and won £300 for themselves plus a further £300 for their chosen charity.
Michelle Ayers, a fellow teacher from Corton Primary School added: “Beat the Street was a fantastic project that Corton completely embraced from beginning to end.
“The project created such a sense of community and promoted our healthy school approach on top of our walk to school weeks we have.
“It was great to hear the enthusiasm of our children and their families going out and about on foot and bike to find the beat boxes and explore new places. As a result of Beat the Street the level of activity increased dramatically with many of our families.”
Further presentations were made to St Mary’s Primary School and Somerleyton Primary School who were runners-up in the competition. St Mary’s received a total of £600 for the school and £600 for their charity Riding for the disabled and Somerleyton Primary School received £300 for the school and £300 for the Somerleyton Community Association.
Phil Aves from Lowestoft Rising added: “Congratulations to everyone who walked, cycled and ran in the Beat the Street competition and well done to Corton Primary School who received their trophy and prizes this week. Pakefield Primary School will also be receiving their trophy and prizes next week.
“We’d like to thank everyone who helped us walk as far as possible. It has been a very successful initiative with thousands of people taking part across the area. We’d love you to keep up the good work by continuing to ditch the car and to carry on adopting active lifestyles.”
Cllr Tony Goldson, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, added: “I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to both Corton and Pakefield Primary Schools who were worthy winners of Beat the Street Lowestoft. It was a tremendous effort by both schools who have really demonstrated our collective ambition for Suffolk to become England’s most active county.
“I am also delighted that we have been able to continue the fantastic achievements of Beat the Street by bringing the Golden Mile to every school in Lowestoft; a measurable physical activity programme aimed at encouraging and rewarding school pupils to walk, jog or run during the school year. It is an important step in helping us to create a physical activity habit for life amongst the Lowestoft community.”
Lowestoft Rising aims to integrate public services in a unique way, bringing together Suffolk County Council, Waveney District Council, Suffolk Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office and HealthEast (CCG) together with the Voluntary Sector in order to address a range of social issues.
HealthEast is the local Clinical Commissioning Group for Waveney and Great Yarmouth responsible for the health care needs of the Community. They are part of the Lowestoft Rising partnership and as local commissioners, keen to see the community being more active and healthy.
Beat the Street is run by Intelligent Health. Intelligent Health creates high quality, innovative products which combat physical inactivity across communities and improves health and well-being. Beat the Street is fun, inclusive and engaging.
