Sporting chance, thanks to Lorna

LORNA PHILIP

LORNA Philip is helping primary school pupils to develop a love of sport from cross-country running to football and rounders to hockey.

And now the Hathershaw College assistant head teacher has been nominated for a Pride in Oldham award.

Lorna leads the Hathershaw Sports Cluster, in which the secondary school arranges a packed programme for 18 local primaries.

Originally part of the Labour Government’s successful School Sports Partnership initiative, she was determined it would continue after the programme ended.

Schools now pool some of the money they receive for sport - and the number involved has grown to 25 different events in a range of sports.

Lorna, a PE teacher, said: “Competition is very much on the Government’s agenda again, but primary school teachers don’t have the time to get on the phone every day and organise events. We organise the competitions for them and give them a calendar, so they can bring their pupils to Hathershaw to compete.”

Lorna also arranges training for primary school teachers — a lot of whom aren’t PE specialists; sets up visits by inspirational figures and coordinates the work of Oldham Sports Development officers in the schools. Hathershaw pupils help to organise the events. Lorna added: “I really enjoy it. It helps us to build a relationship with our primary schools.”