Pupils test beach volleyball on sands of Canary Wharf for Action for Kids

Children from schools in London’s East End who don’t normally get to seaside beaches have been tested their beach volleyball skills on the sands of nearby Canary Wharf.

The pupils at Our Lady & St Joseph in Poplar and St Agnes in Bow were given free sessions in the charity Action For Kids’ annual beach volleyball championships.

Some 200 tonnes of sand were transported earlier this week to Montgomery Square, opposite Jubilee Park in the heart of the business district, to create two California-style volleyball courts—with hours of shovelling and raking by volunteers.

“I don’t think some of the children have seen sand before,” St Agnes’ Year 4 teacher Sinead Donnelly said. “We had all watched Olympic volleyball beforehand and it was great to get on the sand and try out some of the moves.”

The pupils enjoyed the sunny outdoors and were keen to learn beach volleyball from professional coaches.

Year 1 teacher Jess Cargill from Our Lady & St Josephs said: “They were a little overwhelmed when they first got on the sand. Our school is in Poplar and a lot of these kids don’t get the chance to experience this much sand, let alone beach sports.”

The Action for Kids’ championships running until July 25 are free for schools to get involved and for the public to watch, helping raise money for disabled young people and bringing everyone together—pupils, community groups, mums and dads, insurance brokers and bankers.

Side Out volleyball club, which has links to top players including Team GB, gave free coaching to the youngsters.

The pupils gave their seal of approval building sand mountains and said they would teach their mums how to play beach volleyball.