‘Healthy FE College’ gives every student a free gym pass

Students Dorothy Matusiqk, right and Abby Marston in the gym

Hopwood Hall College has been named as a Healthy FE College for the second time.

Healthy FE recognition is an award for colleges that are committed to developing healthy services for staff and students.

The College’s first recognition as a Healthy FE College was in 2010 and they had to reapply to secure the recognition for another two years. This award recognises their continued commitment and hard work as a healthy college.

The College initially gained the recognition due to a number of strategies and initiatives it developed, these included a varied calendar of engaging events for staff and students throughout the year such as summer safety days, a health week and sexual health awareness training sessions for staff.

However, this year they have pulled out all of the stops with one of their most popular initiatives to date.

In September, the College announced free membership to the College’s sports arena for all staff and students. The sports arena houses a fully-equipped gym with the latest equipment, meaning that students can save considerable sums of money on gym fees.

Nimisha Mistry, Interim Head of Student Support and Equality is delighted with its success: “Since its launch at the start of term, this has been a hugely successful initiative, with an average of 250 visits from students to the sports arena every week!”