Junior Sport

Resilience with a capital R has underpinned everything we have done this year and nowhere more so than in sport. New rules, lots of restrictions and endless cleaning of hands and equipment have certainly added to the frustrations, but it has been the lack of ability to play sport against anyone from outside of bubbles, for the majority of the year, that has been the most challenging. We certainly missed the interaction, competitiveness and pure fun that comes from competing against different opponents, and so we very much enjoyed getting back to fixtures during the Summer Term and welcoming parents back on site to support!

However, there has definitely been a silver lining to the change in routine: the need to be innovative and creative has seen new sports introduced in an effort to bring breadth to the curriculum. Table tennis, yoga, kickboxing, circuit training, baseline testing and in-house competitions have helped to reinvigorate the sports provision this year and the children have risen to every challenge with characteristic energy and enthusiasm. The ‘Churcher’s Champions League’ during the Autumn Term saw all children in Years 3 to 6 competing across netball and football, to see which team would be crowned as ‘Churcher’s Champions’. Well done, Team Atkinson!

With large-scale sporting events being few and far between, a definite highlight of the year has been the Junior House Swimming Galas for years 4, 5 and 6, complete with video highlight reels to showcase the talent on display to the wider school community. Again, the children approached these events with

“The need to be innovative and creative has seen new sports introduced in an effort to bring breadth to the curriculum”

gusto and the videos will endure as testament to the effort, determination and fun on display.

Finally, in the Summer Term and managing to hit the only (mostly) dry day in a five-day stretch, the ‘7 Sports Days in 1 Day’ extravaganza saw the children throwing, jumping and running; all to the best of their abilities and in front of cheering and applauding spectators! Very well done to the winning House, Hamble. At last, a little bit of (almost) ‘normal’!

Go Team Churcher’s!