A celebration of sport has been held at Allestree Woodlands School as staff highlight the benefits of physical education for young people.
On July 5, the whole school, including sixth form students, were involved in a Sports Day promoting the benefits of physical exercise on the mind and body.
The event, which is part of the school’s commitment to providing every student with the opportunity to take part in a sporting competition, rounded off a successful year of sport for the school.
Last month, a team from Allestree Woodlands attended the National Deaf Rounders Championships in Doncaster. After winning all their group matches, they faced Doncaster School For The Deaf in the final, winning by 9 rounders to 4. The school is proud of the achievements of its deaf students within school and beyond with some deaf students representing sports at regional and national level as well as getting involved at school.
Even when not wearing the Allestree Woodlands School badge on their shirts, students were still having success for their own clubs and teams. Four students experienced a taste of European football when they travelled to Spain to take part in, and win Group C, of the Barcelona Football Festival in May with their team Duffield Dynamos- A6 Milan.
Tom Cleveley, Head of PE at Allestree Woodlands School, said: “This was a great and valuable experience for the students, to play football in another country, against other European teams, in a very competitive environment.
“What I see as Head of PE is the value of extra-curricular sports in school. It is great for young people to get that recognition within a school setting and to get the opportunity to take part in something competitive. It is why we offer so many after-school sporting clubs which are open to everyone.”
The school’s extra-curricular sport offering ensures there are opportunities for all students to play in fixtures in team sports such as netball, cricket and rugby. And four football teams within the school also won their respective leagues.
It is also helping to boost the number of students studying PE at GCSE and A level where numbers have grown year on year. Several students each year go on to sports related pathways at post 16 and post 18.
“We have over 80 students in each year group (Year 10 and Year 11) doing GCSE PE and we know that offering the clubs outside of school is encouraging more students to take part in sport and want to then study it further,” said Mr Cleveley.
Mr Cleveley believes the benefits of sport and PE study stretch beyond the physical.
“We see that sports, can boost self-esteem, provide a balance for the young person between the academic and physical, give an opportunity to let off steam and to stay physically fit and healthy.”
Gemma Penny, headteacher, also supports the growth in opportunities for physical activity for students with core PE offered to all sixth formers alongside their academic studies. “There is good evidence that staying physically active and developing a habit of undertaking exercise is good for wellbeing as well as physical health. We want to encourage and support our students to make positive lifestyle choices particularly at times of pressure which is why this is part of our curriculum for all.”
This story was written and shared on behalf of Allestree Woodlands School by Kirsty Green. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
