Offaly schools invited to compete for 'Ireland's fittest' title

Schools in Offaly are being invited, by Irish Olympian and sprinter David Gillick, to compete for the title of ‘Ireland’s Fittest School 2026’.

In conjunction with Fyffes, the competition is aimed at promoting the importance of exercise, fitness and healthy eating amongst young people.

A central feature of the programme will be a series of exercise routines – recorded by Gillick, alongside Irish fitness trainer, Sharon Flanagan – which competing schools can adopt as part of their PE curriculum and against which performance will be measured and tracked online.

Building on the success of the previous four years – and running for eight weeks from January 26 – the 2026 competition will then see the top four schools from each province compete head-to-head across four live regional qualifier events in April.

The top school from Leinster, Connacht, Munster and Ulster will then progress to May’s grand final, hosted by patrons Gillick and Flanagan, at which the prize package will include €8,000 worth of sports equipment.

School registrations are now open and further details can be found online at www.fyffesfittestschool.ie.