Whole-School Sports & Health Day

Daugavpils (Latvia)
Duration: One full school day (≈ 5 hrs), run twice per year (autumn & spring)
Participants age: 6–19 years (primary 6–11, basic 12–15, secondary 16–19)
Subjects: PE • Health • Biology • Citizenship
The activity contributes to:
- Stress management
- Mental well-being awareness
- Value education
- Promoting positive interaction and collaboration between students
- Promoting pro-social teacher–student interaction
- Creating within-school organisational prerequisites for social well-being
- Focus on inclusive education
- Physical activities during breaks and academic lessons
- Gamification as a tool to promote physical activity
Well-being area: Physical, Mental, Social
Student participation: High
Feasibility for teachers: Medium
Materials:
- Cones
- Bibs
- Stopwatches
- Whistles
- Orienteering maps
- First-aid kit
- Water stations
- Portable sound system
- Certificates / medals

Description

Divide school into three age stages; each stage has its own timetable.
Outdoor plan: relay races, mini-marathon, orienteering, hiking trail; bad-weather back-up: indoor circuit, dance, yoga, table-tennis.
Senior students (16–19) act as station leaders, timers and peer coaches.
Mixed-ability teams ensure inclusion; adapt rules so every student can score points.
Start with 10-min joint warm-up and mindfulness breathing.
Rotate stations every 30 min; 5-min walking transition = active commuting.
Record individual bests; award not only winners but “most supportive teammate”.
Provide fruit & water at finish; short cool-down stretch to prevent injuries.
End with whole-school assembly, medals, reflection: “How did movement affect your mood?”
Collect feedback sheets for continuous improvement.

Experience from the testing

Pupils enjoyed the autonomy given to senior leaders and felt the event was “run by us”. Teachers noticed higher afternoon concentration and reduced behavioural issues the following week. Many students asked for extra orienteering sessions; several previously inactive pupils signed up after-school clubs. The inclusive scoring system was praised for making “even the slowest runner feel important”.