Learning the ropes: Skipping fever has taken hold at this Cork school

As rates of childhood obesity soar, one Cork school is reviving the once-common schoolyard activity of skipping to boost child fitness and co-ordination skills, writes Ellie O’Byrne.

There's a skipping fever taking hold at Gaelscoil Uí Riada in Wilton, Cork.

Twelve-year-old Maria Barry Murphy from sixth class, second cousin of GAA legend Jimmy, is decked out in her full Cork kit, but instead of showing off camogie or football skills, she’s demonstrating “the pretzel,” a perilous-looking one-legged form of skipping.