Oakwood Junior School has received its Gold School Games Mark, recognising its commitment to developing competition across the school and the wider community.
For head Mrs Atwal, the Government-led award is acknowledgement of the hard work of staff to provide opportunities for children in a broad range of sports and events.
“We have such a dedicated team here at Oakwood Junior School, a team passionate about the wellbeing and futures of our children, and we see the positive role sports plays in helping pupils learn skills such as resilience, healthy competition as well as improving their physical and mental wellbeing,” she said.
Oakwood Junior School, part of the Odyssey Collaborative Trust, has led the way in mixed sport at primary school level, winning the first Derby City Schools Girls Football tournament this year and topping the tables repeatedly in mixed netball.
PE teacher Alan Higgins has driven sport forward at the school since he joined more than 10 years ago, initially as a teaching assistant.
In that role he was eager to provide students with sporting opportunities both inside and outside the school, entering sporting events run by Derby County Community Trust, Derby Trailblazers and more, despite sometimes not having teams in those sports.
“I entered a basketball competition and one of the teachers said to me, ‘but we don’t have a basketball team’. My view was that we have a school of 350 odd children, if we can’t make a team out of that then we are doing something wrong. So, we entered and did quite well.”
The school also set up tag rugby, football and netball teams and there are now lunchtime and afterschool clubs dedicated to various sports, led by coaches.
As someone from the area, Mr Higgins said it is particularly pleasing for him to see the school be recognised with the Gold School Games Mark.
“This school is my school,” he said. “I was a single parent and my children both came to this school, and I have a grandchild at this school now. This is my community and I feel I’m giving something back to the community.”
Areas of particular pride for the school are the netball, in which the school fields a mixed team which has won trophies up to regional level, and its girls’ football.
“I think we were ahead of the curve on girls’ football,” said Mr Higgins. We had a girls’ football team a few years ago but there was nowhere to play because there were no competitions for girls.
“Last year the first Derby City Girls Schools Football League started, and we were the winners of that.”
Mr Higgins also turned his hand to choreography so the school could enter the Derby City Festival of Dance.
“It is a lot of hard work but so rewarding to work with the pupils to make up the routine and then see them perform on stage in front of hundreds of people, it really is quite emotional.”
The school is also passionate about instilling a love of sport in children, particularly girls, so that it stays with them long after they have left Oakwood Junior School.
“There are statistics that more than a million girls, who once considered themselves sporty, then disengage with sport after they leave primary school,” said Mr Higgins.
Mrs Atwal said the Gold School Games Mark would be displayed with pride in the school, alongside the shields and awards in the bulging trophy cabinet in reception.
