St Michael's Primary School pupils enjoy Global Play Day

Youngsters at St Michael's Primary enjoyed a series of fun activities throughout the an action-packed day aimed at enhancing their learning.

The celebration involved all classes in the school, who enjoyed free play, mental and physical exercises and board games.

Global Play Day (Image: George Munro)

School nurture teacher Christine Donnelly said: "The aim of the day was to help our pupils' health, social and emotional wellbeing.

"Global Play Day was initiated in 2015 in America and it's grown since then. Research has shown that children's play experiences have diminished over the years, which has resulted in the rise of mental health issues. Their brains are not getting the freedom to develop."

Global Play Day (Image: George Munro)

The event involved three different sessions, including free play, another based on TV show The Cube, where pupils tested their physical, agility and mental abilities against the clock, and traditional games in the classroom such as Connect 4, Monopoly and Scrabble.

The free play involved construction, crafts, den building and dancing with their best friends across the gym hall. Meanwhile others donned blindfolds and tried to walk a 'tightrope' without going over the lines.

Ms Donnelly said: "Children learn so much through play, like social skills, team building and how to interact with others. These are skills for life."

The initiative was child-led and the youngsters were asked for feedback the next day.

Ms Donnelly said: "We asked the children what skills they had learned through what they had enjoyed, so we can develop the session for next year."