Classroom Medics

As part of its campaign to highlight the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles to young people, Classroom Medics has teamed up with fitnessgaming (www.fitnessgaming.co.uk) to enhance its Health MOT sessions for students. Classroom Medics tours the country's schools giving a series of workshops designed to highlight the dangers of drugs, knife crime and unhealthy lifestyles. To present the dangers of drugs, smoking and inactivity, Classroom Medics utilise 'Stan' - a mannequin first developed by United States army in 1980s - to simulate how these effect and age the human body. As part of thiese workshops, Classroom Medics has added dancing to its series of physical activities. fitnessgaming's dance mat technology provides a fun and inclusive activity for students who need an alternative to traditional sporting activities..

The key to involving all young people in sport and PE is to re-engage those who choose not to take part in more traditional sports such as cross country, hockey or netball. fitnessgaming believes that schools need to be flexible in the sporting activities they provide and embrace activities that are more suited to today's youth. In the process, this will help make sport and fitness something they enjoy and not to be avoided. The software behind the dance mat technology is compatible with all major games consoles and PCs, including the Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii, making them easy to set up, fun to use and a more affordable alternative compared with other expensive proprietary systems.

Tom Warrender, Founder of Classroom Medics, commented: "With so many reports of our young people being increasingly unhealthy, it is vital that they are presented with a variety of activities to encourage physical activity. By including fitnessgaming's dancing systems alongside our other activities, such as athletics and rowing, we are ensuring that students have a sport that they find fun and engaging. When we use the dance mats in our workshops, students are very keen to take part and really enjoy competing against their peers as individuals as well as in teams."