New Gym Facility Boosts Exercise at David Hughes School

Pupils at David Hughes School in Menai Bridge , Wales, have never been so keen to exercise since their new £2.6M gym facility opened at the end of last year. Attitudes to PE lessons and motivation to exercise have soared now that pupils are able to use a wide variety of Life Fitness cardiovascular and resistance equipment.

 

Gethin Thomas, Head of Physical Education at David Hughes School , and ex 400m athlete for , comments: “Our pupils’ response to the new gym facilities has been extremely positive – it’s very rare for children to ‘forget’ their PE kit these days! As well as compulsory lessons, we also hold voluntary gym club sessions at lunch time and these are always extremely well attended.”

 

 

The new fitness facility was funded to the tune of £900,000 by the Sports Council of Wales via the National Lottery. The remainder of the cost was picked up by the local authority, Anglesey County Council. In addition, the fitness equipment was paid for by monies received from the PTA, some local companies and by a grant awarded to the school thanks to the leadership and guidance of Head Teacher, Dr Brian Jones and the now retired Deputy Head, Mr Idris Alan Jones.

 

 

The Life Fitness equipment installed at the school consists of 18 stations of cardiovascular equipment and thirteen resistance machines including the Dual Adjustable Pulley. There are also a range of benches, freeweights and mats for stretching.

 

 

Prior to the new gym facility being built, the school relied on a few pieces of exercise equipment which had to be pulled out of storage each time they were used. Gethin explains: “The previous fitness equipment was of a poor standard and we knew that with an increasing importance being placed on health-related exercise within the National Curriculum it was necessary to improve both the quantity and quality of our exercise provision.”

 

 

A number of fitness equipment suppliers submitted tenders for the project and Gethin and his colleagues went through a methodical and rigorous process of assessment. He says: “Our decision to choose Life Fitness was based on the fact that they were, quite simply, a head and shoulders above the competition when judged on several criteria. These included aesthetics, build quality, usability, biomechanics, value for money, maintenance and service support. In addition, the fact that the weight stacks on the Life Fitness strength equipment rise in just 2.5kg increments was a huge advantage for us when selecting machines that are appropriate for use by teenagers.”

 

 

All pupils at Key Stages 4 and 5, in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13, have one lesson per week in the fitness room, and those studying for GCSE or A-Level PE have an additional three lessons per week based in the gym. Gethin explains: “As well as the practical side of exercise, the fitness room is also used as a laboratory where the pupils can explore the theoretical side of exercise. For example, we can examine the body’s response to exercise using the equipment, we can look at developments in endurance and strength, and we can undertake a whole range of movement analysis.”

 

 

David Hughes School is a bilingual comprehensive with 1,390 pupils aged 11–18 yrs.

 

 

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