Balloch pupils keep in trim with the help of new trail.

Pupils at Balloch Primary School, Inverness are having fun and keeping fit with the introduction of a new trim trail in their school playground.

They recently gathered to say a huge thanks to local Highland Councillors Kate Stephen, Roddie Balfour, John Ford, and Glynis Sinclair who approved £7,500 Culloden and Ardersier Ward discretionary funding for the project. The pupils also thanked the School Parent Council which has already raised £4,000 in match funding for far for the project.

Pupil Council Chair Sarah Ross said: “We all really enjoy the trim trail. Everybody got to choose what they wanted from a catalogue, we voted and the ones with the highest votes were chosen. We are really excited that more will be added to it.”

The Timber Trails pine equipment is installed in the playground on safety surfacing and includes four activity stations: a rope tunnel, parallel bars, log snake weaver, and climbing A-frame.  Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of physical activity through playing on the trail which enables: climbing, crawling, hanging, stretching, and balancing while having fun.

Councillor Kate Stephen member for The Highland Council’s Culloden and Ardersier Ward who is also a member of the Council’s Adult and Children Services Committee was delighted to see the new trim trail in use, she said: “Culloden and Ardersier Ward Members were delighted to support this initiative at Balloch Primary. Instilling active and healthy lifestyles from a young age is vital to the long term health and fitness of our children. We were only too happy to help Balloch Primary.”

Parent Council Chair Evelyn Gray said: “This is a great new facility for the children in both school and nursery. The Balloch Fundraising Group (BFG) have  held a number of different events to raise funds for this project, such as school fetes and fashion shows with the children and parents modelling. We were delighted to be awarded £7,500 by local councillors from the Ward discretionary budget which enabled us to reach our initial target much earlier than anticipated.”

Head Teacher, Karen Ross said: “It’s proving to be a huge hit with the children both at break-time and during PE.  They are so excited about it!  We hope to develop our playground further over the next few years, including extending our trim trail to keep it fresh for the children.”

Councillor Roddie Balfour added: "We were only too pleased to help Balloch Primary with the funds for a trim trail as the village has no play area, and the children will benefit greatly from having play equipment in their school."