PUPILS at A primary school in Chester are set for a bumper year of sport ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after winning £20,000 to spend on new equipment for a healthy legacy from Aldi.

Acresfield Community Primary School in Upton won the prize as part of Aldi’s Kit for Schools campaign, which will provide pupils with a range of new sporting opportunities.

The prize money will be put towards extending the school’s outdoor sports space through the addition of a weatherproof playing surface, that will enable pupils to have outdoor PE lessons and take part in lunchtime games all year round.

The funds will be used to encourage more children to be active ahead of Tokyo 2020, following a report by Sport England which showed that one-third of children take part in less than the recommended minimum of thirty minutes of physical activity a day*.

Acresfield was entered into the prize draw after Aldi shoppers in Chester collected stickers every time they spent more than £30 at their local Aldi store and took them into the school.

The school was one of 20 schools across the UK to earn the £20,000 funding, while all schools who completed a poster received an exclusive Aldi sports kit, containing relay batons, bean bags, cones and bibs.

The Kit for Schools initiative was part of Aldi and Team GB’s long-standing efforts to get young people active and eating well. They have also collaborated on the Get Set to Eat Fresh campaign, which aims to teach young people about eating well and gives them the skills and confidence to cook fresh, healthy meals.

Aldi has already worked with more than one million young people, aged between five - 14, as part of the Get Set to Eat Fresh campaign, and plans to work with 1.2 million children before Tokyo 2020. Aldi has extended the initiative to run until Paris 2025, with the hope to inspire even more children to eat well.

Mike Dixon, headteacher at Acresfield Community Primary School, said: “Physical education is a vital part of our curriculum, and Aldi’s support means we can provide our pupils with even more opportunities to get involved in sports and become more active. We hope it will inspire the children and, who knows, we may even discover a future Olympian of our own.

“It has also been fantastic to see so many local parents supporting us, and we would like to thank them for choosing to donate their stickers to us.”

Sean McGinty, marketing director at Aldi UK, said: “We are committed to working with Team GB to inspire young people in Cheshire to eat well and move more, and we are pleased to be able to help Acresfield Community Primary School to give its pupils the chance to take part in additional sports activities.

“We will continue to work with schools across the UK in the run-up to Tokyo 2020 and beyond to encourage pupils to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.”