Press Release: 2 million children run The Daily Mile as it signs up 10,000th school

2 MILLION CHILDREN RUN THE DAILY MILE AS IT SIGNS UP ITS 10,000TH SCHOOL

  • 10,000 schools and nurseries across 68 countries are now signed up to The Daily Mile, the life-changing children’s fitness initiative.
  • 2 million children around the world are now running The Daily Mile, every day.
  • The Daily Mile founder, Elaine Wyllie MBE, said: “We have experienced monumental growth in recent With the 10,000th school signing up to the initiative, two million children across 68 countries are quite literally taking steps every day towards a healthier future with The Daily Mile.”

The Daily Mile Foundation – who oversee global roll-out of The Daily Mile and are supported by INEOS – today announced that 10,000 settings around the world have now joined the initiative. This figure has grown by nearly 50% in the last 12 months alone. The Foundation’s flourishing network of partners in the UK, Europe and beyond are working hard to get schools taking part in the initiative in their countries. In the UK alone, partnerships with Sport England, supported by the National Lottery, as well as London Marathon and ITV have led to record engagement with The Daily Mile. Their support marks a shared ambition of leading national organisations to getting children active across the country.

In England alone, over 5,000 schools are now signed up.

The Daily Mile initiative was founded by Elaine Wyllie MBE in 2012 when she was headteacher of St Ninians Primary School in Stirling, Scotland. Concerned about the children’s lack of physical fitness, Elaine decided to get her pupils moving for 15 minutes every day to improve their overall fitness and wellbeing.

Leading up to the 10,000th sign up, the initiative has received formal backing from the Scottish and Welsh governments and high-profile support from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, as well as sporting legends Sir Andy Murray, Paula Radcliffe MBE, Sir Mo Farah and most recently Eliud Kipchoge – world record holder for the marathon.

A growing network of research shows the many benefits of The Daily Mile for children’s physical health and wellbeing, their mental health and wellbeing, and their learning. The Daily Mile helps children be more active, increases fitness, helps children feel happier and supports children’s focus and concentration in the classroom. Research by the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh also showcases the benefits of The Daily Mile for schools and teachers. Their research found that the success of the initiative lies in its core principles and ease of implementation.

Further recognition of the Foundation’s outstanding work in the UK and beyond comes after Elaine Wyllie was awarded an MBE for ‘Services to the Fitness of Children’ in the 2019 New Year Honours list.

Elaine Wyllie MBE, founder of The Daily Mile, said: “The Daily Mile has experienced monumental growth with 10,000 schools now signed up with 5000 schools in England alone. Two million children across 68 countries are now quite literally taking steps towards a healthier future with The Daily Mile. Just six years ago I started the campaign at a single primary school in Scotland with the simple belief that just 15 minutes of daily activity could be transformational and improve the health and wellbeing of our young people. I am delighted by the growth but hope that this is just the start. I want every single child at every school to experience the positive health benefits of running The Daily Mile.”

ENDS.

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