City welcomes Coach Carrot as healthy options champion

Empowering children and young people to make healthy choices

Coach Carrot forms part of Southampton’s Healthy and Sustainable Schools’ programme which aims to encourage children and young people to make healthy choices now and in the future.

The team behind the programme invited school children and young people between the ages of 4 and 16 to take part in a competition to create a mascot to help champion a healthier city. Hundreds of entries were received with some amazing ideas and concepts. After hours of careful consideration and with the help of the senior leadership team, the winner was selected; Ivy from Fairisle Junior School with ‘Coach Carrot’.

Coach Carrot has since surprised Ivy during a school assembly and presented her with a framed certificate and her original drawing. Coach Carrot led some fun activities for the children in the assembly and has already begun it’s job of championing health and wellbeing for all.

Cllr Alexander Winning, Cabinet Member for Children & Learning said, "Congratulations to Ivy for creating Coach Carrot. It’s great to see so many of our children and young people get involved with creating a mascot for healthy living. Coach Carrot will become a role model for children and young people; visiting assemblies, health choices workshops, holiday clubs and community events. I look forward to seeing Coach Carrot out and about in the city."

To find out more about Coach Carrot, email healthyandsustainableschools@southampton.gov.uk.