Scottish Daily Mile scheme taken up by four million children worldwide

Schools in 90 countries worldwide have signed up to the Daily Mile, with Scotland last year becoming the first Daily Mile Nation after the Scottish Government formally backed the initiative.

Its success has amazed Elaine Wyllie MBE, who set the scheme in motion 10 years ago when she was headteacher of St Ninian’s Primary in Stirling and became concerned at her pupils’ lack of fitness.

“I was covering a Primary 6 class for PE and got them to run round the field but they couldn’t do it,” she told the Sunday National. “It was the polar opposite of Chariots of Fire. There were 31 children in the class and most were exhausted by halfway.”

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After a chat with teachers and the children it was agreed they would go out and run, jog or walk round the school field for 15 minutes every day to build up their fitness.

“We didn’t think it would work but the children were up for it – one wee boy said they couldn’t run the length of themselves so they knew they were unfit and took ownership,” said Wyllie.

Times Scots Women of the Year finalist Elaine Wyllie, founder of the Daily Mile which started seven years ago in her school (Image: -)

After the first couple of days when the children were “tired out”, they perked up and began to enjoy the break in the fresh air from lessons and it wasn’t long before the benefits became noticeable.

“They were coming in more focused, settled and cheery,” said Wyllie. “Their eyes were sparkling and they looked like children should.”

Within a few weeks the Primary Six pupils were noticeably much fitter and parents of children in other classes began to ask if their children could take part. Within a few months, all 420 children at the school were participating – even the wee ones in the nursery.

At one point, the staff decided to measure how far the children were running in the 15 minutes and found that the majority were covering a mile or more, including half of the three to seven-year-olds and 90% of the older children.

Although the school had not set out to create elite athletes it became noticeable that the St Ninian’s pupils were doing well in athletics and parents of children at other schools began to ask if they could start a Daily Mile.

The initiative spread by word of mouth at first, then Wyllie won Teacher of the Year award from Pride of Britain and TV and newspapers took up the story.

With academic research backing the anecdotal findings of teachers and parents that the Daily Mile was improving children’s health and

well-being, a foundation was set up to spread the initiative even wider.

The foundation, which is supported by INEOS, has announced that the movement has doubled in size since 2019 and now reaches 16,500 schools in all parts of the globe.

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“It seems to cross continents, cultures and climates, but I like that it was born in Scotland,” said Wyllie.

“You can do it virtually anywhere if you can do it in the Scottish weather. It’s a nice export for Scotland and I really appreciate the support of the Scottish Government. They had the vision and ambition to make Scotland the first Daily Mile Nation.

“From a single school in Stirling to now over 16,500 schools and four million children, it is staggering to see how this initiative has grown into a global movement in a little over 10 years. Being active is key for everyone’s health and wellbeing.

“Reaching the four-million milestone is a brilliant way for us to kick off the year and we’re excited to continue to make a positive impact on children’s lives in the years to come.”