Over 150 children from eight different Portsmouth schools have taken part in a range of sports and relay games at HMS Temeraire with Royal Navy personnel.
The Pompey Military Kids (PMK) scheme, jointly led by the Naval Families Federation and Portsmouth City Council, hosted an afternoon of sports for children from military families in the Portsmouth area.
The Commanding Officer of HMS Temeraire and lead for Navy Physical Development, Commander Richard Bird, said: “It was a pleasure to see so many children out and active this afternoon.
“HMS Temeraire has fantastic sporting and fitness facilities and today was a great way to bring the local community together in supporting our service families whilst promoting NAVYfit.”
The PMK cluster currently has 18 schools involved, comprising over 400 children.
It aims to bring together children from service families in the area to help mitigate some of the challenges that they face through shared experiences and mutual support.
Lead organiser for the day, CPOPT Helen Richardson, whose seven-year old daughter Lily was in attendance, said: “Lily’s father is currently at sea on HMS Mersey and has spent a lot of time away over the last few years.
“Events like today not only bring the service family community closer together but promote the NAVYfit ethos in a fun way.
“Lily had a fantastic time which she couldn’t wait to tell her Dad about.”
Nicola Thompson from the Naval Families Federation said: “Today was a fantastic opportunity to get the children together with their parents and experience sport in the Royal Navy.
“A better understanding of where their Mums and Dads work helps the children as well as informing the school teaching staff who were here today of the unique challenges associated with being a child from a service family.”
The event was also supported by the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) and the Royal Navy Sports Lottery.
Any Service families whose children’s schools are interested in joining the Pompey Military Kids school cluster should contact Nicola Thompson on [email protected].
