Sport throughout school life

Games & Physical Education in the Lower School

Physical Education (P.E.)

In Physical Education, the classes are streamed according to the boys' swimming ability because this is judged to be the most difficult activity to teach with a wide variation in abilities. The pupils follow a half term of a water based activity or a half term of land based activity. All pupils in Years 7-9 are timed for 8 lengths swimming and a 3km run in the autumn and summer term and appropriate grades for these times are then recorded on their end of term report. Team teaching occurs on a regular basis in both Physical Education and Games.

Year 7 – Basketball, swimming, gymnastics, cross country, health related fitness and athletics.
Year 8 – Basketball, swimming, health related fitness, cross country and athletics.
Year 9 – Basketball, swimming, health related fitness, cross country, badminton and athletics.

Games

The three major school sports are rugby in the autumn term, hockey in the spring term and cricket in the summer term. There are athletics and tennis matches in the summer term. The pupils are streamed according to their ability in any given activity. Each year group has one afternoon of games and the school teams have one practice after school on an appropriate night.

In Years 7, 8 and 9, the pupils will have the opportunity to play rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis and softball during their games afternoon. Further options are available from Year 10 including soccer, table tennis, volleyball and sailing.

Physical Education & Games in the Middle School

In Year 10 the emphasis in PE and Games classes changes from skills teaching towards educating for later life and allows pupils a choice of a wider range of activities. This begins with instruction in weight training, as part of the Health Related Fitness Course, so that pupils will be able to use the facilities available.

During Games afternoons pupils participate in rugby, hockey, soccer and sailing in the winter, and cricket, athletics, softball and tennis in the summer. There is also a less able group who participate in a variety of activities aimed at improving their fitness and co-ordination.

This pattern, with the exception of sailing, continues in Year 11 when pupils join the Sixth-formers for Senior Games afternoons on a Wednesday.

Physical Education & Games in the Upper School

Every Sixth Former should realise that maintaining a good standard of physical fitness helps intensive mental activity. This standard of fitness can be attained and then maintained by enjoyable participation in any one of a number of activities.

To help achieve this objective, there is compulsory games each Wednesday afternoon for every Sixth Former. During the afternoon a wide variety of activities are available and the student is expected to follow his/her chosen activity for the term. Each pupil is asked to make three choices each term and every effort is made to give his or her first choice at least one term of the year.

We offer the following activities in the Winter and Spring terms:

In the Summer term we offer:

Rugby is the major school sport in the Autumn term, hockey in the Spring term and cricket in the Summer and pupils wishing to be selected for the School teams would need to opt for these particular sports.

Taking the attitude that a fit person is a mentally alert person, the PE Department, through its Games options, is seeking to:

• encourage good health and fitness for life; provide sensible recreation to accommodate the widest possible range of ability and interest;
• offer participation in the physical activities of the pupil's choice in the hope that interest engendered will carry over into post-school life. To cease to be active at any time is usually a mistake later regretted.