Tech solution to reward young Scots for keeping active and healthy in school

Pupils will be able to sync their mobile phone or fitness device to the Young Scot Rewards programme

Anew digital development programme rewarding young Scots for being active has been launched at St Modan’s High, Stirling.

‘Connect Your Tech’ gives young people (aged 11-26) the opportunity to gain special rewards by syncing their mobile phone or fitness device to the Young Scot Rewards programme.

The free system awards points for completing either a burst of 20 minutes of physical activity or for accomplishing 7,000 steps in a day.

These points can be converted into a range of prizes ranging from a free day pass to the gym, the opportunity to win a Land Rover Safari Tour, the chance to win a weekend pass to the 2017 Mountain Bike World Cup, and the possibility of getting a free stylish Berghaus bag.

Chief Education Officer Kevin Kelman said: “We want to encourage all of Stirling’s young people to be fit and active.

“We are delighted that our young people will be able to use ‘Connect Your Tech’ to receive Young Scot reward points for physical activity.”

Pupils are being encouraged to think about how they can live more active lifestyles.

Key to this is motivating them to travel to school by walking or by bike rather than being driven in a car.

The launch was conducted in partnership with the Skills & Youth Employment Team, Young Scot and Active Stirling. In the future, Young Scot hope to develop further challenges and ways to use the technology to encourage physical activity.

It follows the national launch by Scotland’s youth citizenship and information charity, Young Scot last month. The programme has been supported by the Scottish Government through the Commonwealth Games Legacy fund.

The Legacy fund helps to encourage Scots to become more physically active.

Figures last year showed more than 8,000 children a year starting school overweight or obese in Scotland. Scotland now has one of the heaviest populations in Europe with two in three adults in Scotland either overweight or obese. Figures released by Cancer Research UK indicate that there were 8,903 overweight or obese youngsters starting schools in Scotland in 2014-15.

0 At the launch in Stirling