Interview: Mum rolls out skateboard lessons on school syllabus

She admits at school she was the least cool person and would never have considered stepping on to a skateboard, something reserved for the coolest in the class.

Strange then that Sarah is responsible for introducing skateboarding to the syllabus of schools throughout Yorkshire and Tyneside.

Rather than hockey and football, children are being taught half pipes and trick jumps. But for Sarah, 37, there is much more to skateboarding than the latest kit and the daredevil moves.

"It can really boost children's self-esteem," she says

passionately. "Skateboarding can offer children who might not connect to other sports, such as team sports, the opportunity to become physically active and increase their confidence."

As well as going into schools, Sarah has developed the Sk8Safe programme which teachers can deliver themselves as part of the national curriculum.

"By being part of the school day, you find that children, who might not necessarily have the courage to go to an after-school skateboarding session, are really good at it and then earn the respect of the other children," says Sarah.

"You often find that the cool kids aren't as good as some of the

others. It is so inclusive and really helps them work as a team, helping each other and appreciating each other's skills."

Sarah came up with the idea of the Sk8 Safe while running a

skateboarding shop, Popcorn, in Northallerton.

"We had a couple of shops selling collectable toys," explains Sarah. "But when we opened one in Northallerton, it just

didn't seem to take off. People didn't want a toy shop, they wanted a skateboard shop. My husband Carl had done some skateboarding when he was younger and started buying some kit and it just went from there."

Quite quickly, Popcorn became synonymous with skateboarding in the area.

Sarah's husband developed the business while she took a few years out to have the couple's two children Ellie, nearly 10, and Daniel, eight.

"When the children were old enough, my husband went back to his day job in the corporate world and I took over day-to-day running of the skateboard shop. I'd been a big in-line skater when it came over from America but had never really got into skateboarding. But I immediately fell in love with it."

They even started their own skateboard team, but then three years ago Sarah started to notice a decline in new youngsters coming to the shop.

"We started to get worried. Unless new people get involved, then a sport like skateboarding dies off."

Sarah and "the guys", as she calls her team of instructors, started a Saturday morning skateboard club in Northallerton and called it Sk8Safe.

"We wanted to instil confidence in parents that skateboarding is a safe and positive sport."

Sarah admits that there are still those who are sceptical about skateboarding and believe the stereotype "hoody" element dominate, but she says that couldn't be further from the truth.

"In this day and age, when childhood obesity is a growing problem and children spend all day looking at computer and television screens, most parents are just pleased that their child is outdoors, getting some fresh air and exercise."

It was while running a Sk8Safe club in Northallerton that an

enlightened head teacher approached Sarah about taking her skateboarding into school.

"He said it was an amazing sport and he wanted us in his school."

Sarah set about formally putting together her Sk8Safe programme at the same time as getting trained up to teach skateboarding herself.

"The response was phenomenal. It was amazing to see these children who had had no interest in sport and really thought they couldn't do it,

get on a board and be able to skate. You could see the smiles on their faces and the immediate improvement in their self-esteem.

"We were asked to teach the entire school, which was amazing. I'm really a beginner so I taught the younger ones. It also meant we were involved with all the teachers, some of whom were sceptical until they saw how much the children got out of the sessions and they were amazed by what they saw.

"There were quiet, shy, overweight girls with low self-esteem who could do it."

In another example, she taught an autistic boy whose carer said it was the first time she had seen him smile in six months.

"Not only does it increase self-esteem and encourage exercise, it is so good for team building and social interaction," says Sarah. "Teachers have also reported that after the skateboarding lessons the children concentrate better in class and their behaviour is improved.

As word spread and Sarah and her team were asked to go to more and more schools, she decided the best thing would be to adapt her Sk8Safe programme to allow it to be taught to teachers to deliver themselves.

"We would love to see Sk8Safe being taught in every school in the country," says Sarah.

It is clear that Sarah Agar is passionate about skateboarding; a passion shared by her son Daniel but not her daughter Ellie.

"We bought Ellie her first skateboard at two and a half years old. We went to skate parks with her and set jumps. Now she has an aversion to the sport."

Sarah has sold Popcorn to concentrate on expanding Sk8Safe and has just set up a club in Thirsk and a third will be starting Malton in October.

"The club in Thirsk is doing so well that we may soon have to introduce a waiting list."

Who ever said skateboarding was a passing craze?

n For more information on Sk8Safe, visit www.sk8safe.com or telephone 01751 417105.