Back to school and our next generation of sporting stars

Back to school and our next generation of sporting stars

This time of year will mean the back-to-school period for many households across the borough and the end of the summer holidays.

It can be an exciting time for lots of us, but also brings its own challenges and pressure to adapt to new circumstances and surroundings.

Throughout the holidays Wigan Council has been working with community organisations such as Rebuild with Hope, Aim NW and Smart Futures Uniform CIC in hosting events to help families prepare for this period.

The teams have provided advice and discounted prices on uniform and equipment, linked in with our Here For You cost of living campaign.

Now term time has started, there is a regular schedule of Here For You events, so please look out for the next one near you and pop in for expert guidance and support, via Help to claim - Cost of living support events.

If you attended the increasingly popular Leigh Feast event in Civic Square last weekend, you may have spoken to some of our officers sharing a survey about the town centre.

It’s about the exciting regeneration plans for Leigh and there are further opportunities to take part.

Please take the opportunity to give us your feedback on plans to improve Civic Square, all suggestions are welcome.

Our officers will be hosting drop-in sessions throughout the day on Thursday, 19 September and Tuesday, 1 October, at Leigh Library.

The survey is now available online Leigh Regeneration Project.

And remember, Leigh Feast, which hosts a full menu of street food vendors and local traders, returns to the town centre on the first weekend of each month.

In other news, following in the footsteps of Keely Hodgkinson, a dozen young athletes have been awarded grants of up to £500 from our own Believe Talent fund, helping young people chase their sporting dreams.

The idea behind this fund is to support young athletes, helping relieve the financial burden that may come with chasing their sporting ambitions.

This great news is brought to us just weeks after the amazing 800m gold medal at the Paris Olympics, as Keely was a former beneficiary of the scheme. And Keely’s newly updated gold star will be installed at Civic Square soon.

A massive congratulations to everyone who was awarded funding, I wish them the best of luck in their future competitions, we can't wait to see what they all achieve in the future.

For more information about the Believe Talent Fund, visit: https://bewellwigan.org/sporting-futures/.(external link).