It’s National School Sport Week – and the Academy’s going all out to celebrate it.
The week’s run by the Youth Sport Trust, an organisation that has benefitted this school in a partnership which extends more than 15 years.
The theme to the week is #belonging and that’s appropriate to much of what we do here.
The chaos on the rail network this week may, on the face of it, appear unrelated.
But it did get me thinking that individual students here are unaffected by the RMT’s industrial action.
We do not have the stories, as elsewhere, of students struggling to get to exams because their usual trains have been cancelled.
Some travel to school on bikes and a few dropped off from cars but, largely, our students walk here.
It is does offer another opportunity to celebrate healthy lifestyles and the benefits sport and being active can bring to a young person.
There is so much going on, sport-wise, this week. Students have chances to get involved in something they might not have heard of before. They can satisfy curiosity and have a go.
There is real depth to a brilliant programme, and I’d like to highlight the work of subject leader Lindsay Shutes and her team in pulling it all together.
She has gone that extra mile and worked so hard to give our young people access to an array of different opportunities. Thank you to Lindsay and the team.
Monday happens to be Sports Day and it will consist of two, half-day sessions.
Years 7 and 9 will go straight to Quibell Park for 8.30am, where registration will take place.
At 12.40pm, it is the turn of Years 8 and 10. They will be released from Quibell Park at the end of the day.
There is an area for parents / carers to watch and they will be signed in.
Missing from the sport action, of course, is Year 11.
A sense of belonging to the Academy ends on Friday afternoon when they leave us. A formal event will be attended by all staff.
They want to say their goodbyes and thank the students. I say ‘goodbye’, hopefully it’s more of a farewell and, going forward, those students build on what have been long-lasting relationships with staff and friends.
Games, activities, shirt and book signings, photographs, food and an ice cream van are all lined up.
It is our way of creating one last big memory of their time at the Academy and celebrating what they have achieved.
Hopefully, they will continue to feel connected to each other and with here.
We really want them to stay in touch, let us know what they are doing in the next chapter of their lives and beyond, and retain that sense of belonging.
