All primary school pupils should run daily mile, says UK’s richest man

Primary schools should tackle the obesity crisis by making pupils run a mile each day, Britain’s richest person has said. Jim Ratcliffe, a billionaire chemical engineer, is calling for the daily mile charity project to be introduced nationwide, with schools legally required to take part. He spoke out amid frustration that the government has failed to deliver on pledges to help children with their health during the school day.

The daily mile was the idea of head teacher Elaine Wyllie, who introduced it to St Ninians Primary School in Scotland in 2012. It has now spread to 3,600 schools in 35 countries. Pupils run for 15 minutes around school grounds. Wyllie said: “It works because children enjoy it. It makes them fitter and faster. It is simple and effective.” Ratcliffe, 65, is a major donor to the Daily Mile Foundation charity.

He wants the government to urge all schools to adopt the daily mile, adding that it should be legally binding. “I would make it mandatory for them to do that 15 minutes of exercise every day,” he said. “It’s not good for a 10-year-old to be obese. You’re storing up problems. It leads to ill health and people who are not productive and probably not very happy.” Endorsement The Scottish government has endorsed the programme and about 40 per cent of its primary schools are involved. In Wales, about 20 per cent of primary schools have adopted the scheme, while in England about 10 per cent of primary schools run the daily mile. Ratcliffe added: “When the kids do this, they all have a big smile on their face. We need to make this happen.” Ratcliffe topped last month’s Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of ￡21bn.

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