Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania on Sunday attended a ceremony to honour winners of the 2011/2012 King Abdullah II Award for Physical Fitness.

King Abdullah presented medals and trophies to 40 students who won first and second place awards at the national level.

The King honoured students with disabilities who took part in the competition and schools that showed the best results through the seventh round of the Award.

A total of 37,426 students from public, private, military and UNRWA schools won this year, 24,748 of whom received gold medals, 7,791 silver and 5,140 bronze.

More than 604,835 male and female students participated in this year’s competition.

The ceremony featured sports performances by students, including Their Royal Highnesses Princesses Iman and Salma.

The event was attended by several Royal family members along with Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh, Royal Court Chief Riyad Abu Karaki, head of His Majesty’s Office Imad Fakhoury and a number of ministers and high-ranking civil and military officials.

Implemented by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Royal Health Awareness Society, which is chaired by Queen Rania, the award targets students aged 9-17 and comprises five fitness exercises: push-ups, sit-ups, flexibility tests, shuttle runs and endurance runs.

Since its establishment in 2005, the award has managed to drive behavioural change among students and teachers, making physical education an essential component in the educational process.

The passion for sports encouraged through the Award has not only motivated thousands of students to adopt healthier habits, but has also helped them directly enhance their school performance by improving self-esteem and leadership skills.