Girls playing sport at Hatherop Castle
Cricket at Hatherop Castle

Sport and PE

Sport at Hatherop Castle plays a vital part in every child’s experience. Young children have an instinctive delight in movement and playing games and we aim to foster and develop this in all our pupils throughout the school. By offering a broad range of physical activities, all children are able to participate, try and enjoy all types of sport, while also striving towards individual excellence.

The three primary aims of the PE and Games Department are:

  • To develop a positive attitude and active participation in all pupils in a variety of sports and activities throughout their time at Hatherop Castle
  • To encourage team spirit, self-discipline, fair play and sportsmanlike values and behaviour
  • To provide purposeful, enjoyable activity which will fulfil the needs of the individuals and enable each pupil to reach their potential in keeping with their stage of development

How PE & Games contributes to pupils’ personal development

The role of Sport at Hatherop Castle School is to ensure that every pupil is able to enjoy a level of sporting attainment and participation appropriate to his or her own abilities, maximising their talent and potential. Through the Sports programme, complemented by Physical Education, the Sports Department aims to instil the self-belief, confidence and social skills that children gain from playing sport together. Furthermore, the qualities of perseverance, curiosity, critical evaluation of individual and team performance, discipline and resilience, not to mention physical fitness, all have a bearing on academic attainment and emotional wellbeing. Sport at Hatherop Castle School forms an integral part of your child’s education. It is our firm belief that sport provides invaluable life lessons, in addition to the obvious physical benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle. Whether pupils are seeking excellence and high-level performance or simply enjoyable recreation, Hatherop Castle School Sport makes provision for Sport for All.

Curriculum

Lower Phase

Physical Development is centred on three key areas:

  1. Exploring and playing
  2. Active learning
  3. Creating and thinking critically

This approach enables all children the opportunity to get involved and learn through experience. Learning through play helps to form the building blocks of sport and helps contribute to many life skills.

Middle Phase

The approach used in the Lower School is developed and enhanced and focuses on games. Lessons are often divided up into whole-part-whole, where the children are taught a skill as part of the activity and then tested to see how effective they are at implementing it during a game. At the end of each lesson, specific skills are evaluated and reinforced to help secure knowledge of what and why it was done.

Upper Phase

The Programme of Study is designed to revisit activities regularly, enabling children to evaluate and then extend their knowledge as they progress through the school. Although assessment is important at each phase, it is only when the children reach the upper part of the school that they take greater responsibility for their own learning. Assessment of what has been done and where each children could then improve is regularly discussed, monitored and reviewed. Technology is used to assist in the analysis of what the children have done and what they could do to improve. Evaluating performance is key to progression in all areas of the curriculum.

Sports Scholars have the opportunity to meet with the Director of Sport weekly. The children follow a BASE (Balance, Agility, Strength, Endurance) programme, and use IT to review and evaluate individual and team performance from recent matches.

  • Weekly Physical Development lessons in the Nursery are taken by the Director of Sport.
  • Specialist Games Staff teach the Pre-Prep Games programme
  • PD & PE is taught by specialist staff from Reception to Prep 8
  • Games is taught by a variety of teaching staff within the Prep School
  • The Games and Physical Education provision is overseen by the Director of Sport.
  • An extensive list of sporting extras are available throughout the school week, which is timetabled during or after the school day, and includes Judo, Fencing, Ballet and Tennis.

Timetable Allocation:

Nursery (Kindergarten and Transition)

1 x 50 minutes per week of Physical Development (Shared lesson)

Lower Phase (Reception-Prep2)

1 x 5o minute Physical Development/Physical Education lesson per week.

1 x 40 minute swimming lesson per term

2 x 50 minutes of games per week.

Middle Phase (Prep 3-4)

Double games Monday & Wednesday afternoon

1 x 50 lesson Thursday afternoon

1 x 50 minute PE lesson

Upper Phase (Year 5-8)

2 x 50 minutes of games per week & 2.00-4.30pm (Wed pm) per week.

1 x 50 minute PE lessons

Director of Sport and Head of Boys’ Games: Mr N Bailey BSc. (Hons) PGCE

Head of Girls’ Games: Miss Rebecca Scott B.Ed QTS