Children from deprived Ilford South prove Ilford has talent!

Children met at the Clementswood Community Centre to celebrate their new qualifications.

Young children form Ilford South benefited from a series of free Gymnastics workshops held at Winston Way Primary School for a period of 20 weeks.  The programme organised by Redbridge Carnival and funded by Help a Capital Child, developed participants from beginners to eventual attainment of both the grade 8 and grade 7 British Gymnastics Proficiency Awards.  

Gym Instructor Stephanie Thomas led the clasess, she said;

"Although many of these children had not learnt Gymnastics before, you simply could not tell.  They adapted well and learnt the new skills with great ease.  It was a privilege to work with this group of children who illustrated a strong desire to learn and have fun."

Organiser Wilson Chowdhry praised the role of the young Gymnasts and their parents, he said;

"These children proved that there is a wealth of talent locally, they where all wholly committed to the programme and developed better co-ordination and healthier lifestyles, whilst on the course.  The parents of the children made our job easy by arriving on time and collecting the children in a timely fashion.  Our thanks also to Winston Way Primary School for the use of their facilities."

He added; 

"If we are to develop the next potential British Gymnastics Olympians or Olympians in any sport, then facilities and resources must be made available to all.  So often those living in deprived areas have less access to opportunities such as these.  To date Ilford South has no new swimming pool, yet we see a temporary pool operating in the more affluent west of the borough. We will continue to do what we can, to raise the standard of living for those in the South of our borough."

The Classes addressed a distant lack of opportunities for learning this Olympic sport in Ilford South, where no current clubs are in operation.  Redbridge Carnival intends to continue classes and support further students should funding continue. 

 If you are a parent who would like your children to be involved in future classes please contact Wilson Chowdhry on 020 8514 0861,  or email redbridgecarnival@yahoo.co.uk.

All smiles! This talented bunch proved that hard work gets you results.

Children hard at work learning balances (image taken in September courtesy of Ilford Recorder)

Ready for the next Olympics.