Pupils at Horohoro Primary School are finding fun and discipline in one of the most unlikely places – a boxing ring.

About 20 youngsters are taking part in the Boxing in Schools programme run out of the Rotovegas Boxing Gym.

Pupils from Horohoro Primary in their Boxing in Schools programme. Photo: Greg Taipari.

Their head coach and gym owner Aaron Warren has been running the programme funded by First Sovereign Trust, for about seven years. At the moment his team of trainers are working with six schools within the region.

Aaron says making sure the kids were safe, having fun and learning discipline were essential when taking part in the programme.

'For the kids, just being active they actually love the discipline and the discipline is the biggest side of it and it's getting them to understand that they can have fun when they exercise.

'That's what we try and do make it fun because we were kids once and that's how we remember it. So making it fun using the boxing ethos that's what's important.”

The latest school to come on board is Horohoro and their principal Eden Chapman says he is already noticing a change in the kids.

'We started this year and this is the second programme we've started this year. We had our older students doing the programme in term two and this is our middle school doing the programme,” Eden says. 'I think there are a lot of benefits that are easy to see and there are benefits that are harder to see. The easy to see benefits are around their fitness and confidence and things like that.

'But for some of our kids who have a lot of negative role models in their lives. They have really positive role models at school and now they've got another area of their lives where they've got positive role models”

Eden says the children aren't just thrown into the ring and expected to fight. But instead are taught the basics of boxing learning to get fit and the discipline of training hard.

'These kids have been on the programme for five weeks and they haven't thrown a single punch at one another. They do towards the end of the programme have to do some sparring. But it is very well controlled and looked after by the coaches.”

Aaron says the benefits for the children who take part in the programme is long term. Something he is starting to see now.

'I've got some kids who have grown up and have children of their own and they now bring them in to learn how to box. I've had some kids who have gone on to box for New Zealand overseas. That's the rewards we get from it.”