In January 2011, the town of Grantham located in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, was decimated by raging flood waters.

A year later, Grantham State School has signed on to engage more children in sport and physical activity by delivering the Australian Government’s Active After-school Communities (AASC) program.

The school has 85 students and will offer after-school sporting activities from Term 1 this year.

Grantham State School Principal Rebecca Cavanagh is excited to have the AASC program running twice a week.

‘I am pleased to say that we have 45 students participating in circus skills and 35 in soccer this term. Some of these are children who have generally been inactive during and after school, so we are excited to see them get involved.

‘In January 2011, our community experienced a life changing event, but fortunately for the school we were lucky to come out relatively unscathed as we are situated on higher ground. The major concern is the effect on the kids in the community.

‘By having the opportunity to join the AASC program, we are now able to offer these kids a little extra on their road to recovery and present them with unique and new opportunities,’ Cavanagh said.

AASC Regional Coordinator Martin Grose said the AASC program will help to introduce more sports and physical activities to children in the area.

‘It is very exciting to have Grantham join the program. This is a great opportunity to show how the program not only connects kids with local sporting clubs, but can help to rebuild community confidence by engaging entire families.

‘Next term we are planning to introduce the kids to activities including hockey and softball,’ Grose said.