The fittest schools in Ireland step it up

13,000 pupils take the challenge and learn the value of exercise, says Helen O’Callaghan.

FOR the second consecutive year, Oaklands Community College in Edenderry, Offaly, has been declared Ireland’s fittest school. The school that most improved its fitness — by 68%— is St Macartan’s College, Monaghan.

122 schools, comprising 13,067 junior-cycle secondary students, participated in the Aviva Healthy Schools’ Fitness Challenge, to see which school could increase student fitness most in six weeks. Fitness was assessed through a bleep test — on average, students improved 19%.