Latest news from Loughborough University
| 18 October 2006 | PR 06/120 |
GirlForce initiative to be piloted in UK
A pioneering initiative that encourages girls and young women to adopt a healthy lifestyle and positive self-image through education and sport is to be staged for the first time ever in the UK.
The GirlForce programme – which was developed in the United States by Vanderbilt University, Nashville – uses a mentoring system whereby older girls act as role models and ‘tutors’ to younger girls. By engaging with girls who are still in primary or middle school, the scheme aims to enable them to make positive health and lifestyle choices to establish good habits for life.
Through physical activity and interactive sessions the girls look at the advantages of an active life and are made aware of the potential dangers of unhealthy activities such as smoking, lack of exercise, poor eating habits and negative body image.
The inaugural GirlForce project in this country is being supported by two Leicestershire School Sports Partnerships – Lancaster, and Blaby and Harborough. Girls and staff from nine schools will be involved.
The programme will involve three main phases:
- On 19 October, a one-day seminar will be delivered at Loughborough
University by GirlForce staff from Vanderbilt University, to train the
project supervisory staff and ‘young leaders’ (year 10 and
11 school pupils) in the GirlForce approach.
- The following day an interactive GirlForce Day for around 80 younger
girls (years 7 and 8) will be delivered, again at Loughborough, by Vanderbilt
staff, school staff and the young leaders. During this session the girls
will be able to sample step aerobics, kickboxing and other activities
that they may never have tried before.
- Further in-school sessions will then be facilitated by the young leaders under staff supervision.
The GirlForce programme has been hugely successful in the USA, with almost 14,000 participants having completed the programme. It has made an immediate impact on the physical activity levels of participants and has demonstrated statistically significant improvement in girls’ attitudes towards smoking, exercise, healthy eating and body image.
“It’s really exciting to see the GirlForce programme being rolled out to other countries,” says Susan McDonald, director of the programme in the US.
“Older girls are natural role models for the younger ones. They really look up to them and pay close attention to what they say and do. It’s a great opportunity to have a positive impact.”
The programme is being staged in this country by the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University, in conjunction with Vanderbilt University – its aim is to deliver a totally inclusive programme.
“The US programme has had girls who have disabilities participating in the GirlForce project, but we’re recruiting mentors who have disabilities too, which is a first,” explains Ken Black, director of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport.
“Girls who have disabilities share the same body image and healthy eating issues as their non-disabled peers, but their lifestyle choices may be more limited. In the scheme here disabled and non-disabled girls will experience the GirlForce programme together.
“Information we gain from this pilot project will then be extended to other UK school partnerships, and be introduced to the programme in the USA, enabling them to develop a more inclusive approach.”
– Ends –
For all media enquiries contact:
- Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR, Loughborough University, T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
- The Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport is a joint venture
between Loughborough University, specifically the School of Sport and
Exercise Sciences (SSES) who host the project, and The Peter Harrison
Foundation. It exists to generate and implement research and development
projects in the area of disability sport and inclusive physical activity
and has a wide-ranging brief, with grassroots development and the inclusion
of previously under-represented groups a core aspect.
- Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey
ranked Loughborough equal first among full-time students; and industry
highlights the University in its top five for graduate recruitment.
Around 40% of Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for
teaching. The University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes:
for its collaboration with aerospace and automotive companies such as
BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries;
for pioneering research in optical engineering; for its world-leading
role in sports research, education and development; and for its outstanding
work in evaluating and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.
In 2006 Loughborough celebrates the 40th anniversary of its University Charter, awarded on 19 April 1966 in recognition of the excellence achieved by Loughborough College of Advanced Technology and its predecessor Colleges. Loughborough University of Technology was renamed Loughborough University in 1996.