The Anderton Centre provided respite for Park Road Junior School who had been struggling to find any extra-curricular activity for their students.

The independent junior school in Bolton for boys aged 7-11 years hadn’t been able to find anywhere providing safe outdoor provision due to Covid restrictions until the Karen Winstanley, the Headteacher  spotted an advert on the Anderton Centre’s social media platform about the centre offering “Stand Up Paddle Boarding”. She approached the centre and asked if it might be possible to organise a club activity after school to provide this as an extra-curricular pursuit for the boys.

The aim of the activity was to help the boys settle into the new academic year after an extended absence from school, allowing them to have fun together whilst also building their confidence and team building skills.

Karen commented, “It was hugely beneficial to the children as they were able to have fun together outdoors in what would have appeared to them as being a more or less near normal manner after many months of separation from friends and not being able to meet and play in groups.”

She continued, “We view this type of provision as an essential element of the children’s learning and an important part of our ongoing curriculum. We found the staff at the centre extremely helpful and friendly as they tried to accommodate our boys and went out of their way to help us achieve our aims under such challenging circumstances,”

Karen was already familiar with the Anderton Centre through the Bolton Schools Foundation as well as on a personal level through her own children’s Cubs and Scouts groups plus the centre’s DofE provision.

Numerous activities have already been booked by the school for 2021 and Karen would thoroughly recommend the centre to any school in the North West.