Hundreds of teenage girls from across the county have been part of a flagship fitness scheme which will see their feedback shaping PE lessons in their schools, in a bid to increase their activity levels.

Around 120 students between 13 and 15 years, from eight schools which included Sir William Borlase’s in Marlow and Amersham School, took part in a ‘kick-start’ event at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, where they were introduced to a range of different sports and activities including hoop dance, volleyball and table tennis.

The girls are now giving feedback on their favourite activities to their teachers, who will aim to include them in PE lessons, as part of Girls Active.

The project, developed by the Youth Sport Trust and delivered in partnership with Leap, is being funded by Buckinghamshire County Council’s public health team.

Health bosses said it aims to help teachers and teenage girls understand what motivates participation in PE and sport – using what they find to help inform future lessons.

Margaret Aston, cabinet member for public health, said she was delighted with the positive feedback from the girls.

She said: “This is a fantastic scheme, showing girls the range of activities on offer and listening to their views on what would get them more active.

"Only around 10 per cent of 15-year-old girls in Buckinghamshire achieve the recommended one hour of physical activity each day – compared to nearly 20 per cent of boys of the same age. 

“Many people who are inactive later in life say that they were first put off of doing exercise through negative experiences of PE at school.

“That’s why it’s absolutely vital that we encourage more girls to be active, and particularly those that don’t consider themselves ‘sporty’.

“We need to listen to them to try and make their experiences of PE better, but also show them that being active doesn’t have to mean playing sport or being really competitive – there’s so many different and fun ways you can keep yourselves fit.”

Other schools, including Highcrest Academy, Wycombe High School, Burnham Grammar and Chesham Grammar, are also taking part in the scheme.