AINTREE BEACON PROJECT BACK IN BUSINESS WITH RACECOURSE DAYS

This year’s programme of educational activities within the Aintree Beacon Project is underway, starting with a series of racecourse days for Maricourt High School’s Year 7 pupils.

The annual racecourse days are structured over one week and are all centred around pupils’ curriculum learning, with a focus on improving and developing numeracy, alongside elements of literacy, science, geography and physical education. The programme run by Racing to School and supported by The Racing Foundation, is tailored to the needs of each group, but with all being encouraged to spend as much time as possible outdoors throughout the day, as well as building activities around promoting teamwork and problem solving.

Maricourt High School’s Curriculum Leader for PSHEE & Citizenship, Ian Daly, said: “Our continued relationship with The Jockey Club, Aintree Racecourse and Racing to School through the Aintree Beacon Project goes from strength to strength. The opportunities afforded to our students from Year 7 right through to 6^th Form not only enriches their learning but also offers them a real-life, workplace-based experience within a local business that is right on their doorstep but is world famous and steeped in history. Our students are very lucky, and we value this relationship deeply and look forward to continuing to develop it in the future.”

Each day starts with the group gaining special access to the weighing room, testing their knowledge and application of imperial and metric systems, as they learn about horseracing’s handicap system and protocols for weighing jockeys.

Next, it’s off to the Parade Ring to use estimation, measuring and calculating averages to discover how horses can safely managed when walking around the oval ring.

Then, we return to focusing on the jockeys, learning about the kit that is needed to ride safely and effectively in races, as well as the tack they will utilise in partnership with the horses. Pupils need to apply both their numeracy and science skills to create their own suggested diet plans for jockeys, all inspired by the Grand National legends whose names adorn the pegs in the changing rooms.

As they near the finish, pupil get to take the journey along the final furlong of the ‘hallowed turf’ of Aintree’s track, seeing the National’s famous Chair fence up close, before finishing off with a quick dash up the home straight – once they have correctly calculated the distance back to the winning post.

Here, they take a quiet moment to visit the memorial of Red Rum, who still takes pride of place in the record books and the hearts of many of these pupils’ families.

Finally, every pupil can practise their own skills as a jockey on the equiciser (mechanical horse) and ask any questions about their visit to the Racecourse and the horseracing industry more broadly.

The Aintree Beacon provides fun and unique activities throughout the year that use education as a gateway to connect young people with their local horseracing industry. Young people explore the historical and current day significance of the Grand National and horseracing more widely to their local area and are provided with an insight to the many career roles available to them through connected local businesses.

The Aintree Beacon was set up in 2015 in partnership with Aintree Racecourse, The Jockey Club, and Aintree Equestrian Centre. The programmes supports four primary schools, as well as Maricourt High School. Thanks to the generous support of the Racing Foundation, this eighth year of the Project includes a full programme of events for young people right through from primary school to Sixth Form.

Next on the itinerary for this Beacon Project is the programme of Pony Education Days for local primary schools in June. Follow our social media channels @RacingtoSchool and website so you don’t miss the story!