And I would skip one hundred miles and I would skip one hundred more.

That was the message from pupils at Chantry Community Academy in Ordnance Road, Gravesend, who took on a mammoth 200 mile skipping challenge between them last Friday.

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Around one in five children (21%) are obese by the time they leave primary school.

This sombre statistic prompted the academy to strive to take action to promote the health of its pupils.

Together with two other academies in the Skills For Life Trust, 800 pupils marked National Skipping Day with more than 2000 minutes of jump rope action.

It formed part of a national initiative organised by Skipping Workshops with around 250 schools taking part to promote healthy and fun forms of exercise.

The benefits of skipping include 10 calories are burnt a minute, improved concentration, boosting mental health and increased stamina.

Teacher Jake Simmonds, who helped drive the skipping initiative at the academy said: “When planning the day itself I wanted to create a fun, inclusive but semi-competitive activity that will hopefully encourage the pupils of all the primary academies in the Skills for Life Trust to love physical activity and not only sport itself.

"Promoting this love of activity can be the starting point in really startling to making an impact on that 21%.

"The children had a lot of fun, which is important when encouraging them to exercise.”

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