CHILDREN from a Spa school learnt about the science behind sport at an inspirational lecture organised by the University of Worcester.

Pupils from Droitwich Spa High School were among those from more than 20 regional schools to take part in The Science in Sport: One Giant Leap lectures.

The lectures, held at Malvern Theatres over two days, were delivered by Chris Hughes, senior lecturer in biomechanics at the school of sport and exercise science at the University of Worcester.

Chris encouraged the young people to explore such questions as ‘What do athletes do to jump such distances?’ ‘What exactly do they need to be able to do to achieve a world record?’ and ‘How does their performance compare to the average person?’ “It has been fantastic,” Chris said. “The pupils were really involved and responsive. We looked at the world record high jump bar and what it would take for an athlete to clear it, what athletes need to do to jump long or short distances, and even looked at sporting injuries.”

The lectures were organised by the university’s widening participation in higher education team.

Julie Fisher, outreach coordinator in the team, said: “Using examples within sport the students were introduced to the importance of science in advancing elite performance and how the underpinning science relates to all aspects of everyday life.

“These lectures were designed to give school pupils an idea of what learning might be like at university and to encourage them to think of higher education as a realistic option.”