PUPILS at a Gwent school put their teachers through their paces as part of an healthy initiative.

Penygarn Community Primary School held its own healthy school week last week, with teaching staff swapping their classrooms for the treadmill on Friday.

Pupils of all ages watched as the 35 adults took it in turns to run.

The initiative was set up by healthy schools co-ordinator Zoe Brinkworth, with support from the Torfaen branch of the British Heart Foundation.

Mrs Brinkworth said the county has one of the highest obesity rates in Wales, so she wanted to instill the healthy message in children.

The youngsters had a go at making wraps, listened to talks on nutrition and entered a competition run by Tesco to write a story about fruity friends. They also exercised throughout the week.

Mrs Brinkworth said: “It’s worked really, really well.

“The lunchboxes were coming in quite unhealthy and we hope to make a difference to their diet.”