Cardiff Council has invested £100,000 to develop a new specialist fitness facility at Llanishen Leisure Centre which will be used to introduce children to the gym as part of a new initiative being run in partnership with Precor.

The pilot Children’s Activity Programme will be launched in October, and aims to work with local schools to attract children aged 11 to 13 and provide them with a grounding in ‘physical literacy’.

The development costs of the scheme, which will officially be launched in January, are being met by Precor, which has designed the scheme around eight-week modules.

The psychological and physiological effect on one group of children will also be measured in a study by Glamorgan University as part of ongoing research into children’s activity.

“Introducing the Children’s Activity Programme is a great opportunity for Llanishan Leisure Centre to really make a difference to the children in the community and take positive action to tackle inactivity and obesity among our youth,” said the centre’s general manager, Simon Hughes.

“The project is designed to get young people back into the habit of being active without worrying about what their peers think.

“Children naturally gravitate to having fun and being active and Precor have helped us in designing a programme that incorporates all the necessary elements to motivate and inspire children.”

The new specialist gym has 15 stations and can accommodate 25 children working in pairs or 16 working individually.