Mens sana in corpore sano' (a sound mind in a healthy body).

JUVENAL

 

 Aim

Our aim in the PE department is to develop and nurture a love of sport and physical activity.  From this foundation, we develop skill, resilience and confidence, learn to win and to accept losing, foster good sportsmanship and have fun along the way!  We seek to encourage all pupils to work to the best of their ability both individually and in teams.

Approach 

What do we do in the Pre-Prep department's Games lessons?  We crawl over the soft play equipment in the sports hall when it is cold outside, we score goals on the Astro Turf pitches, if we're getting bigger we practise our netball shooting, we run to the big oak tree in the middle of the field and collect acorns in autumn, we learn dances for Chinese New Year, we hit a fabulous forehand on our mini tennis courts, we climb up the gymnastics apparatus.  We also try to hit our teachers in dodge ball, we jump as far as we can into the long jump pit, we might get muddy when we score a try in rugby, we perform a vault in gymnastics, we learn yoga, we look for signs of Spring on the playing fields, we throw, we catch, we run, we skip and we cheer very loudly on sports day for our friends...

In the Prep department we run teams for netball, hockey, swimming, cross country, rounders, tennis, gymnastics and athletics.  The girls here love their sport and we offer numerous extra-curricular clubs and practices.  Many of our girls also benefit from our links with the local tennis and hockey clubs, and we also draw on coaching expertise from other schools within the Foundation for swimming, hockey, athletics and cross country.  We compete in tournaments and matches every week from Year 3 to Year 6.  Perhaps the most contested matches in our calendar have to be the fiercely fought inter-house matches in which all girls compete each term!  The girls also enjoy yoga, cheerleading, Maypole dancing, Irish dancing, street dance, aerobics, football, badminton, synchronised swimming, water polo and exploring the playing fields.

Swimming

Pupils swim as part of the curriculum from Year 1 to Year 4 for a minimum of one term.  In addition all pupils can opt for swimming lessons at any point throughout the school during the year.  The Head of Swimming co-ordinates a team of specialist swimming teachers at the Warwick School pool to enable pupils to learn in small groups, where they develop their stroke technique, water skills and competitive swimming.

Gymnastics

All pupils participate in gymnastics in the hall, where we use the vaults, mats, bars and ropes.  We aim to develop their fitness, strength and flexibility, whilst also building their confidence while using the apparatus. In the Prep department we work towards BAGA awards.

Dance

During dance pupils focus on creative, confident and expressive movements while exploring many different styles of dance from different cultures across the globe.  Sometimes they will work collaboratively in groups or pairs preparing routines which they may perform in front of their peers.