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Running and Singing to Improve Maths and English

Two simple ideas to change the lives of pupils at school: a daily run and putting music at the heart of the curriculum

This week we go back to school, with two simple ideas that involve changing the day-to-day lives of pupils to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The Daily Mile is an idea developed in a Scottish school by an enterprising teacher, which is now being adopted worldwide. It gets pupils to run a mile at a surprise moment during the school day, to break up their learning and burn some calories. Meanwhile, in Bradford, in the north of England, a previously failing school has found salvation through music. To improve its performance in core subjects including maths and English, it promoted music in the timetable and embraced a music-teaching philosophy pioneered in communist-era Hungary.

Presenter: Dougal Shaw
Reporters: Shabnam Grewal and Dougal Shaw

Photo Caption: A pupil playing drums and singing
Photo Credit: 大象传媒

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