This month, young people can look forward to a bumper selection of classes, activities and attractions at BH Live Active leisure and sports centres across Portsmouth and the BCP region.

Registered charity and social enterprise BH Live operate many of the sport and leisure centres in the region in partnership with their respective local authorities. Recently they have expanded their junior activity programme to encourage children of all ages and abilities to have fun staying active throughout the October half-term.

Swimming crash courses, gymnastics camps, basketball, athletics, tennis skills sessions, trampolining, Bounce & Play sessions, sports holiday clubs, and much more will be on offer with tons of fun to be had whatever the weather.

There are activities suitable for children of all ages including babies, pre-school and juniors up to the ages of 17 – visit the school holiday timetable to see what classes are available at your local centre.

Additional inflatable sessions will run to encourage more children to jump, bounce and play throughout their autumn break. In Bournemouth, these include The Crusher pool inflatable at Littledown. AirJumpX, an indoor bounce attraction at Sir David English Sports Centre, and Raptor Run at Pelhams, a brand-new pool attraction that opened this summer. Soft play for tots aged 5 and under is also available at Terrace Cafés at Littledown, Pelhams and Corfe Mullen in Bournemouth and East Dorset.

Those looking for a spooky fix can enjoy Littledown’s Halloween disco, which will take place from 1pm-5pm on Thursday 31 October 2024. Visitors can expect games, dancing competitions, fancy dress competitions, and tons of disco fun. More information can be found on Littledown’s Facebook event page.

In Portsmouth, young people aged 8+ are challenged to tackle pool attraction AquaDash! at Mountbatten Centre. Navigating a hump, demolition ball, basher wall, and much more, children will dash across this epic aqua obstacle course before making a splash on the 5ft challenge slide. Extra public swimming sessions, including Wet & Wacky, have also been added to Mountbatten’s swimming timetable following customer demand.

Additionally, Portsmouth’s largest indoor soft play and bounce attraction – Exploria at Pyramids in Southsea – will hold multiple sessions throughout the holidays, allowing children to play interactive games, climb, whizz down themed slides, jump into foam pits, and much more. On Sunday 27 October 2024, themed Play & Bounce Halloween sessions will be taking place between 3pm-5pm with live DJ music, games, and a raffle. More information can be found on Exploria’s Facebook event page.

Rob Cunningham, BH Live’s Director of Leisure and Business Development, shared:

“We’re delighted to offer an abundant programme of activities this October half term to keep young people, and their families engaged and active. Thanks to additional investment into new attractions this summer, there’s lots more for young people across Portsmouth and the BCP region to see and do when visiting their local leisure centre.”

Facilities and timetables vary per centre – please visit the BH Live Active app or bhliveactive.org.uk and exploria.org.uk for more info.

Some activities and classes are included as part of BH Live Active’s junior membership (T&Cs apply) – more information is available at bhliveactive.org.uk/junior-membership.