PUPILS at a college in Bournemouth are getting involved in the local community, as part of a countdown to the Olympics this year.

Students from Harewood College are using sport to engage with people of all ages with the Get Set for Community Action programme.

Get Set for Community Action is a new UK-wide programme for young people and their communities created by the British Olympic Foundation and British Paralympic Association, thanks to the Big Lottery Fund.

Assistant headteacher Deneen Kenchington said: “We are an Olympic values school, so we have got plenty going on this year, especially in the build up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio.

“We have got 10 action leaders and they have been acting as exercise buddies to people that have been referred to their GP with different issues.

“Their project involved groups of students going to GP referral exercise classes and acting as exercise buddies to encourage the participants."

Ms Kenchington also believes the initiative will not only have had an impact on the community but also the students themselves.

“The students have really enjoyed it, it’s a challenge for them to balance it with their studies but it has helped to develop a range of skills and they are meeting people they would not normally meet,” she added.

Around the school, excitement is growing as the games draw nearer.

“They were really inspired by Paralympian David Smith and his story and have been sending him good luck messages, and writing poems and sending pictures following his life-saving operation,” Ms Kenchington added.

“With everything he achieved in sport, and now with his own personal battle, it is really inspiring for the students. "And with Rio getting closer, it’s a chance for them to be in contact with someone who knows what it’s all about.”