KS2 Whitley Festival of Sport

On Thursday 24th November we hosted our very first Festival of Sport for KS2 schools from our local area! 50 children from Year 5 from five of our Whitley based partner schools joined us on top field from 10.00am for a glorious morning of rugby.

With our elite sports scholars running the partnership tournament by refereeing and coaching the matches we were delighted to involve our own LP students from Year 10 to the Upper Sixth. They were ably supported by staff from the PE department who have many years rugby coaching experience.

Unlike our Rugby Masterclass which was training based the Festival of Sport focussed purely on match play and the opportunity to compete against other schools, representing your own school community. This chance gives pupils such an immense sense of pride and it was heart-warming to witness their smiles on the pitch. Even when play didn’t always go to plan!

Director of Outreach and Partnerships at Leighton Park, Tash Coccia, commented “The KS2 Festival of Sport is about bringing schools together, sharing best practice and giving local students enrichment experiences on the Park through a range of sports. Today’s Rugby tournament was filled with enthusiasm, fun and great sportsmanship. Seeing our scholars working hard to coach their KS2 teams through the tournament was wonderful and highlighted the importance of mutually beneficial partnerships. Huge congratulations to winners Geoffrey Field Junior School who have taken home the Golden Rugby Ball back to their trophy cabinet!”

Girls’ rugby player, Cali (Year 10) reflected “Some of these schools don’t have fields like this to play sports like rugby so this is a good opportunity for them to get coached by people like us. We are so passionate about rugby we can inspire them and give them some of our enthusiasm and maybe spark some interest in a sport they have never played before.”

Advance Performer Programme (APP) athlete, Ted (Lower Sixth) added “It’s nice because usually I’m the one being coached and now it feels nice to know that I’m the one that they are looking up to!”

Shakai (Year 5) from Whitley Park Primary enthused “We are playing tag rugby, I’ve never played it before but it’s good. I’ve scored seven tries in two games!”