Off to the races with Thatcham pupils

8 April 2019 

Thatcham pupils had every reason to race to school, recently – they were off to a day at the races! 

The 17 pupils from Thatcham Park School swapped their classroom for a hospitality box at Newbury Racecourse as part of the ‘Racing to School’ initiative - an educational charity that delivers free outdoor learning activities for young people at racecourses, studs and trainers yards across the country. 

Each student received an activity book to complete during the day, but the real highlights were meeting champion jockeys, Richard Johnson and Paul Brewster and getting to watch a race from the finishing line. 

Ollie McPhail, Programme Manager, Racing to School said: “The aim of the programme is to enhance children’s literacy and numeracy through interactive and outdoor learning.  Activities around the racecourse included weighing and measuring, with all students getting the chance to estimate their weight and use the scales to measure themselves with the imperial measuring system used in horse-racing. They also judged the distance between flat and jump races, and learned how a photo finish works.” 

Mrs Goode, Class Teacher, Thatcham Park School, added:  “It was such a great day for our pupils, it was enriching beyond one curriculum focus particularly for this group of children - a fantastic opportunity.”

Rachel Peters, Communities Officer, Sovereign said: “We were really pleased to help support the day, enabling this group of year 5 students to take part in this valuable learning experience and improve their awareness of and interest in employment with the horseracing industry.”