The 14th July 2017 will mark the beginning of the World Para Athletics Championships in London Stadium (formerly the Olympic Stadium), with the IAAF World Championships following from 4th August for an exciting Summer of World Athletics.
A ticket offer for schools was first made available to London schools in January, followed by an extension to schools across the UK in March. 250,000 pupils across Greater London have been given the opportunity to attend, as well as tens of thousands of pupils from elsewhere in the country. Tickets were offered at a highly generous price of £3 per pupil, with accompanying adults/teachers attending for free. Greater London schools will also enjoy the privilege of free travel on Transport for London services.
This is a fantastic initiative that will allow an incredible number of pupils to attend the World Para Athletics Championships; exposing them to inspirational athletes competing in a vast variety of sports, from shot put and long jump to relays and sprints. We can all learn a lot from para-athletes; they are individuals who have often overcome challenging obstacles in their lives and have come out the other side fighting and refusing to be defeated.
Additionally, teachers across the UK can get pupils involved in the Summer of World Athletics with the launch of Starting Blocks; a free education programme that aims to introduce the Championships to pupils through a variety of subjects, competitions and activities. Starting Blocks is composed of free, curriculum-linked resources and whole-school activity ideas for teachers of pupils aged five to 14 that cover the subject areas of Physical Education, Maths and Literacy. Find out more and access the resources here.
We wish every pupil and member of staff attending the Championships a fantastic trip and congratulate the organisers for providing schools with such a valuable learning outside the classroom experience.
If you are one of the lucky schools to have received tickets, you may find our article on Walking with Your Class in a City Environment useful whilst planning your visit to the London Stadium.
