Founder of Daily Mile honoured for helping improve the health of pupils

The founder of a scheme which encourages children to run, jog or walk for at least a mile a day, has been honoured by the Prime Minister.

Theresa May awarded Elaine Wyllie, the Founder of The Daily Mile, the Points of Light award,whichrecognisesinnovative and inspirational volunteering.

The Daily Mile is a simple initiative where children run or jog, at their own pace, for fifteen minutes every day.

Elaine started the fitness initiative six years ago while the headteacher of St Ninian’s Primary School in Stirling. From 0 Elaine Wyllie started the initiative six years ago

the single school the campaign has spread across the UK and internationally and is now a fixture of the school day in over 5,000 schools in 44 countries.

In 2015 Elaine won the Pride of Britain Teacher of the Year Award for her contribution towards the success of the programme. Prime Minister Theresa May said: “The Daily Mile is having a tremendous impact in helping young people make the small changes needed to start healthy habits that will last for a lifetime.”

Elaine said: “To receive this award from the Prime Minister is a wonderful honour. I would like to thank everyone at INEOS, our team at the ‘The Daily Mile Foundation’ and all of our supporters for their hard-work in making this initiative a success over the last few years. More than 5,000 schools have registered with The Daily Mile.