A SCHOOL was given a boost in encouraging physical fitness yesterday, with the arrival of a large amount of playground equipment.

The Corporation Road Primary School students collected 51,494 Active Kids tokens for equipment, including skipping ropes, bats and balls, and safety helmets for use on some of the equipment.

Headteacher Joyce Jones said the children were now kept active during break times. She said: "They are delighted with the equipment. It has helped the behaviour on the yard enormously."

She added that the school was grateful to Bell's stores for collecting the vouchers.

Marie Steward, charity organiser, said: "Active Kids shows children that being active can be great fun, and eating well is really easy too."

To help the students gain the most from the new equipment, the charity has also pledged £500,000 to the Youth Sport Trust and its primary school programmes.

The money will be spent training and providing resources for more than 20,000 teachers, allowing an estimated 1 million children to benefit from the programme.

To complement the pledge, a donation to the charity will be made by Sainsbury's for every 100 Active Kids vouchers received.