A new initiative designed to bring sporting activity to more than 200 children in Slough, Maidenhead and South Bucks launched today.

The pharmaceutical company Takeda UK and the non-profit making organisation SportInspired are working in partnership to bring grassroots sports to eight to nine-year-olds through their Active Communities, Brighter Future project.

Seven schools across Slough, South Bucks and Maidenhead will take part in the initiative which will be delivered across three phases to the end of the 2018 academic year.

The first phase lasting until January will be ‘team spirit’ sessions where children will be taught healthy eating - building on the launch of the Childhood Obesity Strategy last year.

Phase two will be a day-long ‘festival of wellbeing’ at Magnet Leisure Centre, Maidenhead on January 25 where the 200 plus children involved will get to participate in a full-day of activity, trying out sports that may not usually be open to them.

Following the festival, the children will decide which sport they would like to keep practising and each of the participating schools will offer this as an after-school club.

The primary schools involved are all in Slough - Ryvers in Trelawney Avenue, Littledown in Stoke Road, Our Lady of Peace in Derwent Drive and Penn Wood in Penn Road.

The secondary schools are Cox Green, Langley Academy and Beaconsfield School.