KS2 Festival of Sport – Rugby Tournament

On Thursday 13^th November, our partnerships team hosted five primary schools from across Reading in the KS2 Festival of Sport Rugby Tournament. Geoffrey Field Junior, The Palmer Academy, Whitley Park, Katesgrove, and Southcote Primary Schools all took part.

The morning started off with some quick games to get everyone warmed up, and then the tournament began. Each school got to play four games, each being coached by our sports prefects. A lot of the visiting students had not played Rugby before and saw this as a great chance to try something new. Leighton Park students benefit from the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and confidence, part of our future readiness programme preparing pupils for adult life.

It was close, with three of the schools coming joint third but ultimately, Southcote Primary School were declared the winners! Once the trophy was handed over, everyone came together at the Cricket Pavilion for hot dogs, hot chocolate, and some music!

“It feels amazing to be the winners!” exclaimed Isla (Year 5) from Southcote Primary School. She also reflected: “The prefect who helped us was great. He taught us really well, especially with our passing, and he always had something funny to say which I liked.”

Charlie (Year 5) from Geoffrey Field Junior School reflected: “Today was good because we got to have a go at Rugby which we’d never played before and was fun to try out! The Leighton Park Students were really helpful today as well, teaching us where to go and what positions we could do.”

Daniel (Year 5) from Geoffrey Field Junior School also felt: “Today was really fun because we played some games at the start and then just got to play loads of Rugby. I liked that the other schools were friendly, and working with the prefects was really good too.”

Ellie Smales, Head of Rugby, concluded: “It was fantastic to welcome five outreach primary schools to Leighton Park where thankfully the weather held up, and the students had an amazing time. Many of them were playing touch rugby for the first time, and it was wonderful to see their confidence and skills grow over the course of the morning. A huge thank you to our 1XV Rugby team, who were incredible throughout the morning – helping lead, encouraging the younger students, and making sure everyone felt included and supported. Festivals like this are so valuable for giving children the chance to try new sports, promoting teamwork and healthy living, and offering a taste of the wide range of sports available to them.”