
First state school skatepark boosts fitness and increases attendance
In a deprived coastal area, Folkestone Academy in Kent had high levels of absence, but attendance has risen steadily since the concrete bowl opened, with dozens of pupils regularly skating, scooting and BMXing.
The unlikely champion of the project is the school's bespectacled 44-year-old head of geography, who never forgot his youthful passion for skateboarding and is now out on the concrete bowl every
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie Olympian welcomes baby boy and reveals his adorable name: 'We love you so much'
Olympian Mariafe Artacho del Solar has welcomed a baby boy with her husband Jack Curtin. The 31-year-old took to social media to announce the happy news and reveal the newborn's adorable name. 'Luka Michael Curtin arrived in the world on Saturday, the 9th of August,' wrote the beach volleyball champion. 'We love you so much, our darling boy! Mariafe, who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, included a gallery of cute pictures of her newborn in the Instagram post. In one snap, Luka, wrapped up in his cot in a thick blanket, can be seen sporting an impressive head of dark hair. Mariafe posted another photo of her little boy dressed in an oversized cardigan with a 'welcome world' sign. It wasn't long before the couple were inundated with well wishes. 'Congratulations!!!' wrote Australian swimmer Cam McEvoy, who welcomed his first child only last month. 'Beautiful, congrats guys,' added Steeplechase competitor Gen Gregson, who was part of the Australian Paris 2024 team. 'He's finally here!! Congratulations. Luka is gorgeous,' wrote swimmer Shayna Jack. Mariafe made headlines in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics alongside teammate Taliqua Clancy when the pair brought home the silver medal in the beach volleyball finals. The dogged pair competed in a gruelling match against the US team of April Ross and Alix Klineman on Friday, hoping to win Australia's second gold medal in the sport. The pair had earlier defeated Latvia in straight sets winning 23-21 and 21-13 in just 43 minutes, which sent them into the final. But the American proved too good. Mariafe had played in the 2016 Games with her then partner Nicole Laird and didn't win a game while Clancy made it to the quarter-finals with her former teammate Louise Bawden. The new duo got together in 2017 and won silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Mariafe, who was born in Peru, moved to Australia when she was 11 with her mother and in 2012 relocated to Adelaide to take up a beach volleyball scholarship. In 2024 Mariafe announced she had no plans to retire. 'I've always wanted to make it to five Olympics, finishing at home in Brisbane [in 2032],' she said. 'So I'd love to come back for it. We'll see what life has in store,' reported Seven News at the time.


Edinburgh Reporter
5 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Scots now aiming for World Cup qualification
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The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
It's all well and good spending £200million on Sesko and Co. but Arsenal defeat exposes a HUGE hole Man Utd need to fill
MANCHESTER UNITED have splashed the cash this summer but the goalkeeper position remains a concern. Here are SunSport's key takeaways from the narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal. 2 2 No 1 ISSUE United have been linked with Gianluigi Donnarumma and David de Gea in recent weeks, and surely they will sign a keeper before the window shuts. Ruben Amorim has faith in Andre Onana — even if a lot of the fans do not — but he did not consider him ready to start here. The Cameroonian has missed the whole of pre-season with a hamstring injury. So Altay Bayindir, who has played throughout the build-up to the season, got the nod — and ended up costing his team the game. He should have been stronger under pressure from William Saliba and flapped a corner on to the head of Riccardo Calafiori. Bayindir has had problems with set-pieces before. Amorim and sporting director Jason Wilcox have two weeks to come up with a solution before the end of the transfer window. NO GOALS — AGAIN United mustered just 44 goals in the Prem last season — and here they were starting with a blank again. The Red Devils have spent £200million sprucing up their forward line this summer, and there were encouraging signs from Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Ex-Prem ref says there was no foul on Man Utd's goalkeeper by William Saliba during Arsenal loss But new £74m centre-forward Benjamin Sesko stayed on the bench until the 65th minute. On a couple of occasions before then there were crosses into the box but nobody there to put them away. Amorim said on Friday he believes Sesko can be United's No 9 for many years to come — and that is why they spent so heavily on him. So it seemed a strange call to leave him on the bench for so long. Clearly the fans agreed as he was given a huge ovation when he arrived. A couple of late half-chances went begging but the Slovenian did enough to show he will be a threat. MIDFIELD STILL AN ISSUE United have abandoned their bid to land Carlos Baleba at least until next summer because of Brighton's asking price. There is an interest in Sporting's Morten Hjulmand, while United are one of several clubs who admire Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace. But there is a chance they will not sign another outfield player, and fans will be worried about the options in midfield. Casemiro was excellent in Europe last season but did not have the same impact in Prem matches, while we are still waiting to see the best of Manuel Ugarte. United are going to be more exciting to watch this season — that is clear already — but will they still have a soft centre?