Centenary project celebrates a century of playground games across Causeway Coast and Glens
Thu, November 04, 2021
Children’s games from days-gone-by are being revived in schools across Causeway Coast and Glens.
Part of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s NI 100 programme, 30 Primary Schools signed up to take part in the Heritage Games initiative throughout October.
Using imagination and creativity, younger pupils will be transported through play to 1921 to try out a range of playground activities from the past 100 years.
Explaining more, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Richard Holmes, said: “When we were planning events to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland, we wanted to ensure our younger people were able to get involved, and we’ve had a fantastic reaction so far to our Heritage Games project.
“At a time when technology is very much to the fore in children’s lives, we’re going back to a different era with activities like hopscotch, hula hooping, skipping, ‘What Time Is It Mr Wolf’ and ‘Donkey’ to recreate games first enjoyed by our older generations in their youth.
“We are grateful to all the schools who signed up and given the great reaction we’ve had so far I hope these games will make a lasting return to our playground. The coaches from our Sport and Wellbeing Development Unit have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to encourage this type of imaginative play which is helping to bring history to life.”
Altogether, over 2000 pupils too part in the scheme, with each participating school enjoying a two-hour coach-led session.
Looking ahead, the Sport and Wellbeing Development Unit is also planning a Centenary Games Interschools Competition in honour of Northern Ireland sporting icon Mary Peters. Pupils from 10 secondary schools in the Borough will compete in a series of heats before the end of 2021, with a finale event planned for next year.
More details about Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s NI 100 programme can be found by visiting www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/ni-100.
