Mayor cuts ribbon on school’s state-of-art

ON your marks, get set, go were the words on the lips of staff and pupils at St John’s RC primary, Rochdale when a new state-of-the-art running track was unveiled at the school.

The mayor, Councillor Mohammed Zaman, pictured right, was on hand to cut the ribbon and officially open it, much to the delight of the assembled throng.

The school’s sports leader, Chris Hickman was thrilled, not just by the track but by the many possibilities it opens up.

He said: “I can’t wait to use it. This is extra-space we desperately needed. It will provide an open space for pupils to do a myriad of activities and for them to run freely without bumping into each other.

“The Physical Education programme, which is already varied, will go from strength to strength, especially athletics. We have to work in the hall at the moment but now we have the running track it will be fantastic.

“We have a ramp which links the track to the football and games area and this will also allow us to implement a more challenging cross-country course.”

And, with childhood obesity high on the national agenda, it will increase our capacity to address this issue.

He added: “The ability to undertake the dailymile initiative will be placed on a firmer footing, which will be a big plus. This is a way for pupils on a daily or