ARGYLE'S Football in the Community team have joined superstar athlete Dame Kelly Holmes in lending their weight to a countrywide campaign designed to promote participation in sport and PE.

Double Olympic gold-medallist Dame Kelly went back to the classroom to take part in National School Sports Week by running a Football Day at Ivybridge Community College.

The initiative is being backed by the Youth Sport Trust, whose representative Dame Kelly took part in a five-a-side football match with the Argyle Community team under the watchful eye of former Pilgrim striker Sean McCarthy and ex-Home park coach Dave Leonard, both Ivybridge CC PE staff.

Pilgrims' Community heads Mark Rivers and Debbie Lake also led a team of six coaches in tutoring 56 children from Year 7 up to Year 9, using many small activities, including target-practice, dribbling skills and power-shot testing.

The day was thoroughly enjoyable, with many children able to receive a high standard of coaching and generally have a good time playing football.

National School Sports Week is a new initiative for secondary schools throughout the country.

It involves a week of intense physical education with several workshops and activities being run both on school sites and outside school grounds.

A vast range of sports and activities, from football to surfing, takes place during school curriculum PE lessons.