Have you ever wondered about where 'physical education' comes from, and why it became so common in schools?

This family-friendly talk, with photographs and drawings, will illuminate the history of physical exercise for children in France. Drawing on her research on the 1920s and 1930s, Dr Joan Tumblety, History at the University of Southampton, will explain how and why physical movement was seen by educators, medical doctors, and the government as a way of curing the physical and psychological problems of the younger generations.

What may surprise you is the extent to which those involved wanted not only to make children fit but to make them happy, too!

This is an opportunity to reflect on how past generations in a different country took an interest in what today we call wellbeing and mental health.

Can you recognise your own experience in this story?