Supergrounds for optimism
Andy and Jamie Murray have welcomed the news that RBS is to invest a further £3 million in its Supergrounds project.
Andy and Jamie Murray have welcomed the news that RBS is to invest a further £3 million in its Supergrounds project.
The RBS-sponsored tennis aces believe safe and stimulating school playgrounds can play a key role in getting children more active. And they praised the work being done by Supergrounds to transform school grounds around the country.
"We're really excited to be involved with the programme," said Andy, who visited Wimbledon's St John Fisher Primary School to mark the completion of the school's Superground project, and to see how pupils are learning in the playground.
The British No1 was joined by elder brother Jamie, who is one of the world's leading doubles players. "We were always encouraged to be active as children," added Andy.
"Having a fun place to play outdoors can make all the difference in persuading kids to make the most of their school grounds."
Supergrounds is a £6 million, six-year community programme funded by RBS group, managed in partnership with Learning through Landscapes (LtL) - the national school grounds charity.
Since the launch of RBS Supergrounds in 2004, the programme has benefited more than 118,000 children by transforming 450 primary school playgrounds into attractive and stimulating places to learn and play safely.
As well as helping young people's educational and emotional development, improved school grounds have been shown to increase children's overall attitude to learning, to improve behaviour, social interaction and self esteem, and significantly reduce bullying.
Stephen Moir, Head of Community Investment at RBS, added, "School playgrounds offer safe outdoor spaces for children and are the one space they all have access to."
"The funding provided by the Supergrounds programme, which is delivered by Learning through Landscapes, is instrumental in encouraging schools to think of ways to make their playgrounds better places to play and learn outside."
He added: "Andy and Jamie are great ambassadors and role models for young children and we're delighted they're seeing first hand how the pupils are benefiting from their new Trim Trail, a climbing frame which has been incorporated into the curriculum."
