The school holidays are nearly here, so it’s a good time to feast your eyes on the great activities taking place in Oxford to keep young people active this summer.
The holidays are great for the first few weeks, but boredom can kick in and parents may find it expensive to keep young ones entertained. But Oxford City Council has the answer with a host of free and affordable activities.
For those aged 8 to 13 there are free StreetSports sessions kicking off on Monday 25 July and running for six weeks. They are happening on and around many of the city’s Multi Use Games Areas (also known as StreetSports cages) including the Leys, Barton, Rose Hill, Wood Farm, Northway, Cowley, Botley Park and Cutteslowe and offer the kind of fun sports sessions that young people want to get involved in.
The Sports Leaders who run the sessions bring all the equipment needed to take part in street golf, football, urban cricket, rounders, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, table tennis and more. There is no need to book in advance, just turn up and play, but keep a look out on our website for updates as sessions might be cancelled if it rains.
Cllr Linda Smith, Board Member for Leisure, Parks and Sport said: “StreetSports is a fantastic initiative to get young people involved in sport, have fun, learn new skills and meet new friends – and it’s all free
“Offering so many different sports activities and tailoring the sessions to what young people want will keep them entertained for hours. And who knows, it may also reveal a future sporting hero.”
For those aged between 11 and 19, the Youth Ambition Programme is running holiday schemes at the East Oxford Community Centre and Northway Sports Hall. Young people can take part in dance and music projects, learn something new with science experiments, enjoy trips to a trampoline park, play football or golf and try out paintballing. For more information visit the Oxford Youth Ambition webpage.
You can also contact the Sports Development team about both of these programmes. Email sportsdevelopment@oxford.gov.uk or phone 01865 252728.
If you fancy a splashing summer, the Council continues to offer free swimming sessions and targeted lessons for those under 17 years of age living in the city. For more information visit www.oxford.gov.uk/freeswim
And finally the new Ping Pong Parlour at the Glee Club offers free table tennis every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday for the whole family as part of the Ping! Oxford 2016 festival. There is also a host of table tennis themed events such as the glow-in-the-dark-party, “Ping! in the Dark”, on Tuesday 26 July. For details and information on other table locations visit www.pingengland.co.uk/oxford
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