Larne and Inver Primary pupils need your vote to claim top competition spot

The school now joins four other primary schools from across Northern Ireland to go head to head to compete for the first prize of £3,000 worth of sports equipment vouchers and the honour of being crowned Lidl Fit Factor Champions. But they need your help!

All you have to do to help Larne amd Inver in their quest is log onto www.fitfactor-ni.co.uk and follow the link to register your vote. Voting is now open and closes on Friday, June 1 at 5pm.

The overall winners will be chosen based on the following criteria:

• 50 per cent on the number of online votes received.

• 50 per cent on the decision of the independent judging panel, consisting of high calibre local personalities. The judging panel is made up of Stephen Ferris from Ulster Rugby, Joe McMahon from the Tyrone GAA team, chef Chris Bell and Claire McCollum, freelance journalist.

Fantastic runner-up prizes are also at stake with second place receiving £2,000 and third place £1,000 worth of sports equipment vouchers.

Over 12,000 Primary 3 and 4 pupils took part in the Lidl Fit Factor, which is designed to help teachers promote the four key areas essential for healthy development - healthy eating, self expression, physical activity and creativity - thus increasing their chances of becoming healthy adults.

Already, Larne & Inver has won a bonus of £1,000 worth of sports equipment vouchers and Lidl shopping vouchers just by being chosen as the regional winner.

Caitriona Maguire from Lidl Northern Ireland, said: “Larne and Inver now has a fantastic opportunity to clinch one of the top prizes, but they need the local community to get behind them and vote for the class on www.fitfactor-ni.co.uk, so get voting!”

Clare Smith, Ulster Cancer Foundation, said: “Congratulations to Larne and Inver and all the other finalists in the Lidl Fit Factor. Many lifelong habits are formed during a child’s early years. Communicating positive healthy lifestyle messages such as a varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and encouraging physical activity, will help children adopt a positive outlook to food and exercise. These crucial life lessons will lead to a healthier lifestyle in adulthood and reduce their future risk of cancer by a third.”

Ms McBurney (P3) and Mrs Boyd (P4) of Larne & Inver said: “What a fantastic resource! The children had a great time completing the suggested activities from the lesson plans and ideas provided by Fitfactor. They were enthusiastic and looked forward to each lesson, some of which P3 and P4 completed together. The healthy eating ideas were useful in reinforcing the ethos of our school, as can be seen in the recipe book created by P4. The P3 class also enjoyed being creative when they made a full-sized pupil to go shopping in Lidl.

“We are really looking forward to getting some new sports equipment with our winnings to continue promoting a healthy lifestyle within our school.”