MIW boosts academic achievement

Seaton Burn College has been celebrating the release of government performance table which show the best results in its history.

The college earned a place in the top 25% of schools in the UK and scored second in Total Points in North Tyneside. Not only that, but the school can now boast the highest proportion of students meeting performance benchmarks in the Local Authority.

MIW is doing some boasting of its own because this jump in results followed the company’s donation of water coolers to the North Tyneside school.

And for anyone who doubts the connection between those facts, Seaton Burn Principal Alison Shaw is quick to put them right.

“Well hydrated children spend more time exercising, enjoy it more and are keen to continue exercising regularly,” she said this week.

Shaw has long been an advocate for the supply of adequate drinking water in schools.

“Children who drink plenty of water are healthier and function better,” she said, adding that there were far fewer classroom disruptions caused by irritable children since MIW’s donation of water coolers had given pupils better access to drinking water.

Shaw’s conclusions are backed by a growing body of research into school children and drinking water.

Multiple benefits for well-hydrated pupils

One investigation in more than two dozen schools across Germany found that children with all-day access to fresh drinking water were 30% less likely to be overweight – an important finding given our national obesity epidemic.

Teachers everywhere are familiar with the sight of a classroom full of sleepy children in the middle of the afternoon. Natural body rhythms and lunchtime overeating may be part of the problem, but the chances are that many of these lethargic kids are simply dehydrated.

Experts agree that every child should drink at least a litre of water in small amounts throughout the school day. Kids who are very physically active should drink even more.

Unfortunately, school boards have often put the provision of water coolers low on their lists of priorities, given the lack of adequate regulations and the difficulties of securing outdoor drinking fountains.

MIW’s vandal proof water coolers have largely solved that problem, ensuring a safe and uninterrupted supply of drinking water in school yards.

And the company’s donation of water coolers to Seaton Burn may well have played a part in boosting the college’s ranking.

Alison Shaw is in no doubt about it: “Since the water coolers were installed, the children are mentally sharper and learn more effectively,” she said, adding that there were far fewer complaints of fatigue, headaches and malaise – all signs of dehydration.