This term, young people participating in The Harlequins Foundations HITZ Learning Academy have also been participating in Nuffield Health’s SWAP Programme as part of their enrichment activity. The SWAP Programme, delivered by Nuffield Health’s personal trainers, is a personal health and wellbeing programme designed to empower young people to improve their own well-being.

The programme consists of both theory and practical based sessions delivered by qualified personal trainers from Nuffield Health in Twickenham. The interactive and engaging sessions covered subjects such as:

• How to move – focusing on physical activity.
• How to eat – focusing on the sugar content of food and drink.
• How to sleep – focusing on sleep, sleep hygiene and screen time.
• How I feel – focusing on emotional wellbeing and resilience.

Harlequins Foundation Education Officer, Mark Kilgallon said:

“All the sessions had a really positive impact on our learners. We have a cohort of young people that at the beginning of the programme had little to no interest in physical activity, would stay up late at night and didn’t lead particularly healthy lifestyles. However, now, as a result of this SWAP programme our young people are more active, less tired during lessons and both their attendance and attainment have both improved.”

The programme delivered by Nuffield Health has given the young people on The Foundations HITZ programme the confidence when they attend the gym on a regular basis. The personal trainers at Nuffield Heath in Twickenham have been fantastic at developing positive relationships with the young people on the programme and really taken the time to get to know them and ensuring they always feel welcome in the gym.

A really important part of the SWAP Programme that really resonated with our young people was the ‘How to Eat’ module and in particular the sugar content of some foods. While our learners were under the impression that the unhealthy food they consume was cheap, the programme taught them that for the same amount of money or in many instances less they could buy or make themselves a healthy alternative. It is now a regular occurrence to see the fridge in the classroom full of healthy options.


One of the young people on The Foundation HIT Programme said:

“I really enjoyed the sessions on sugar content and sleeping. It has helped me have a healthier lifestyle both from what I eat to how I sleep. I now wake up not feeling tired and make it into college on time”

Ben Williamson, Personal Trainer at Nuffield Health Twickenham said:

‘The sessions were very enjoyable for me and I felt like they were well received by the students. It was great to be able to educate them on topics such as ‘Bones and Joints’ and to get them up and moving in the studio. There were some fantastic contributions amongst the group with a lot of individuals getting involved and participating in discussions.

It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to educate them on the benefits of lifestyle and exercise which I hope has given them a different outlook and provided something they can take with them.’