Churchfield pupils win interactive game

Pupils at Churchfield Primary School walked, scooted and cycled hundreds of miles to win a competition that turns towns into giant games. 

Around 660 children and parents from the school took part in Beat the Street, a national initiative which came to Edmonton over the summer. Players collected points by travelling between contactless sensors called Beat Boxes which were located around the area. 

More than 8,370 players took part in Edmonton, clocking up 36,231 miles in six weeks, but Churchfield emerged as the winning school. Children were presented with a trophy, certificate and sports vouchers in a special celebration assembly. 

Peter Robotham, Assistant Headteacher at Churchfield Primary School, says: “Beat the Street caused such a buzz around school. The children loved the game and became really competitive because they wanted to play their part in representing their school and making sure Churchfield did well. Parents enjoyed it too and were asking me for updates on how we were doing.

“Resilience is one of our core values and the children demonstrated this brilliantly because they didn’t give up. They kept going until the very end and their determination paid off because Churchfield hit the top of the leaderboard in the last week. This success was a whole school effort and it was fantastic to see how much our families got behind it.” 

By turning daily journeys into an interactive game, the Beat the Street competition aims to encourage people to ditch their cars in favour of walking, cycling or scooting. The Edmonton game was commissioned by Enfield Council and funded by London Marathon Active Spaces, Canal & River Trust, and the National Lottery via Sport England.

Peter adds: “We encourage our pupils to be active for 60 minutes a day and this game really inspired families to get moving and explore the town in a fun and engaging way. We’re all thrilled that Churchfield was the winning school.”