A CHARITY which provides healthy lifestyle education to local school children has been awarded a £290 grant from Wellington Town Council.

Members of the council’s policy and finance committee agreed on October 14 to give the thumbs-up to a grant application to the Life Education Wessex group.

The money will go towards the delivery of the Helping Children Make Healthy Choices workshop at Rockwell Green Primary School.

Councillors were only too happy to support the application and the council has been very supportive of Life Education Wessex down the years.

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “I’ve said it before and I will say it again about this. If £290 can save one child or young person from getting involved in drugs or anything like that then it is money well spent.”

Cllr John Thorne added: “The school is contributing to this and I think £290 is very good value for money.”

Life Education Wessex – which has been running since 1993 - provides health education programmes at local schools.

The charity works across Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Hampshire providing programmes in schools giving children the skills and knowledge to make healthy choices in life including the adverse effects of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and psychoactive substances.

A Life Education Wessex spokesman said: “We help to effectively communicate healthy lifestyle messages and empower children aged from three to 13 with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence to make positive healthy decisions and stay safe in school.”

The spokesman said that children found the sessions “fun, engaging and memorable.”