Primary school pupils get a racing start
Enthusiastic Year 3 pupils from Westgate Primary School in Warwick are heading off to the races today.
As part of the BHEST Education Programme, run under the auspices of the British Horseracing Board, these pupils were among 9,500 school children participating in the Education Programme during 2006.
The aim is to provide learning opportunities within a range of National Curriculum subjects, in the context of fun and excitement. This approach appears to really motivate children, and teachers of previous participants have been hugely enthusiastic about the beneficial effects. It appears that when children are given information in a new and stimulating environment, their levels of achievement are improved significantly.
The visit to Warwick Racecourse by children from Westgate School has been organised in conjunction with Warwickshire Country Council’s Education Business Partnership, concentrated on activities relating to maths.
They spent time in the weighing room, learning about the importance of weight to jockeys and being taught to convert weights and measures. They also went out onto the course to look at the height, width and spread of a jump, and to consider the materials and costs involved in making it. In the parade ring, they measured the circumference and worked out the number of horses that could be paraded safely. The children also had the opportunity to design their own set of jockey’s colours.
A further objective of this programme is to make children and teachers aware of the wide range of career opportunities that exist within the horseracing industry.