CHILDREN in schools across west Wales have had a military experience from veterans recently.

Forces Fitness has put children from Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire through their paces.

The military veterans at Forces Fitness have delivered 210 sessions across the three counties, as well as in Bridgend, Cardiff, Gwynedd, Newport, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Flintshire, Monmouthshire, Merthyr and Wrexham.

South Wales Guardian: Shenkin III was even in attendance at some of the sessions.Shenkin III was even in attendance at some of the sessions. (Image: Forces Fitness)

In total, 2,964 children took part in the sessions, with 451 of them being service children whose parents or guardians are active Armed Forces personnel. The sessions were aimed at the service children and their friends and classmates.

The sessions – which focus on health, wellbeing and building resilience and are supported by the Welsh Government – were well-received with 99.60 per cent of the pupils wanting to do similar activities again, and 98.73 per cent saying they had fun.

Some of the parents said: “Just wanted to say a huge thank you for today! Rosie said it was really good, a lot of fun and had a lot of laughter. We really appreciate that you took the time to offer this precious bunch of kids something special.”

South Wales Guardian: The children learnt to work together to solve problems.The children learnt to work together to solve problems. (Image: Forces Fitness)

Another said: “Thank you so much for today’s event, Sophie and Lauren came away full of stories and said they really enjoyed it, the fact they said they would definitely do it again shows it was a success. I didn’t realise we had so many service families in the area. Thanks once again.”

One of the pupils said: “The more I play with other children the happier I am and it helps my confidence, I enjoyed myself, it’s better than being on my computer.”

Sean Molino BCA, managing director of Forces Fitness, said: “All our team are so pleased to see the smiles on the children’s faces whilst coming together, sharing stories and meeting other service children in the area.

South Wales Guardian: They had fun whilst learning vital skillsThey had fun whilst learning vital skills (Image: Forces Fitness)

“The learners had so much fun during the sessions whilst learning some really valuable life lessons around health and wellbeing and it was great to see them working together to overcome challenges with huge smiles on their faces.

“It’s been a fantastic program to work on, huge thanks to our team of instructors and delivery partners who continue to make memorable experiences for our future generation!

“The children, teachers, local authority staff and schools have really enjoyed us delivering and we hope to work with them again during 2022-2023.”