London Marathon Foundation Active Playgrounds help 10,000 children get active in schools as initiative expands
The London Marathon Foundation is committing further funding to revamp school playgrounds, following a successful pilot that is supporting more than 10,000 children to be active within the school day.
In 2025, we launched a pilot initiative, Active Playgrounds, to help schools with limited outdoor space transform their playgrounds into spaces that inspire activity for their pupils.
In total, 33 schools across England and Wales received £2,000 each to install an Active Playground, many of which were co-designed by pupils. The playgrounds use colourful, weather-resistant markings to create engaging activity routes, with guides outlining how many laps children should do to complete a mile, giving them a motivational challenge to work towards.
With fewer than half of children currently meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity, (Sport England Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2025), the Active Playgrounds have proved a simple and effective way to help children move more often. They also support teachers in planning and delivering school-based physical activity initiatives, with a 50 percent increase in schools with Active Playgrounds registering for the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools and The Daily Mile, creating fun opportunities to build more movement into the school day.
St Nicholas Primary School in Hull was one of the schools that received funding for a new Active Playground.
Hannah Dale, PE Lead at St Nicholas Primary School, said:
“The Active Playground has had a really positive impact on our pupils. It has improved their awareness of physical activity and helped them understand why it is so important.
“It has also given us valuable opportunities to plan exciting events, such as the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools, and is used effectively as a brain break to support learning in the classroom. Most importantly, it has brought a real sense of fun and enjoyment to the children’s playtimes.”
The initiative has proved so popular with schools that we’re committing more than £100,000 to install a further 50 Active Playgrounds in England and Wales this academic year, giving more children and teachers across the UK opportunities to build regular movement into the school day.
Mike Diaper, Group Funding and Impact Director at the London Marathon Foundation, said:
“Pupils, teachers and parents all love our Active Playgrounds initiative, and we’re so excited to be supporting even more schools over the coming year. By creating fun, inclusive spaces where children can move, play and build healthy habits, we can help more children enjoy the lifelong benefits of being active every day.”
