A YEAR IN SPORT

“Sport for All” continues to be the ethos at NLCS and PE, sport and activities play a significant role in the School’s Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy. Year 7 has focused on the effective and long-term benefits of the bio-mechanics of movement, Year 8 sampling Pilates, and Years 9, 10 and 11 selecting from a carousel of sport and wellbeing activities. The Sixth Form has a bespoke timetable to access the Fitness Suite as well as a range of wellbeing and sporting sessions.

Our continuing partnership with the Wray Foundation and Saracens enables us to offer a high-quality programme of sport, advice and mentoring for our Elite Athlete Mentoring Programme (EAMP) and provides access to Saracens rugby and Saracens Mavericks netball players.

To enable students to develop with guidance from their PE subject specialists, baseline fitness tests are conducted throughout the year providing a valuable incentive to gain ownership over individual fitness and wellbeing and will be supported by our bespoke NLCS fitness app.

HIGHLIGHTS

The PE department supported the ‘Get Active’ 24-hour event for Years 10 and 11, raising over £2,000 pounds for the National Brain Appeal and provided the opportunity for students to try something new. In Cross Country, 13 students were selected to represent the borough at the London Youth Games, with a large number of students through to the Middlesex finals and our Junior Girls team qualified for the regional final of the English Schoolgirls Cross

Country Cup.

Our Over 13 gymnasts secured a silver medal at the Independent Schools Gymnastics Association (ISGA) regional qualifier, with two students securing second and third place individually. This meant the squad progressed to the National Finals.

Our Senior Lacrosse Squad secured silver medals in the South-East regional tournament and reached the semi-final of Division II at the National Schools Lacrosse Championship (NSLC). The Under 15 and Under 14 squads secured a place in the quarter-finals of the NSLC making them both one of the top 16 schools in the country, in their age category.

Our Netball squads excelled with every age group entering the Sisters n Sport (SnS) and Independent Schools Netball Cup National Championships, with our Under 15 squad securing a place in the semi-finals. Their qualification through to the national finals, was as a direct result of being the unbeaten national schools regional (Middlesex) champions. PE Week provided a focus for our main winter sports with visits from Saracens Mavericks players and coaches, Kadeen Corbin and Kat Ainsworth, who shared their Super League and international skills. Laura Warren, our Strength and Conditioning Coach and Welsh and Great Britain lacrosse player, focused students’ talents on the latest tactics and principles of lacrosse competitive play. Derek Cole, Saracens Rugby, provided tips and insights into advanced skills and contact for our rugby players.

Despite lockdown impacting our annual Sports Celebration Evening, the PE department honoured the hard work the students put in throughout the year in all aspects of PE and sport in this video celebration.

➤ WATCH OUR VIDEO HERE

During the lockdown students rose to the challenges of remote PE by engaging with aspects of skills and fitness in various forums. Students completed weekly challenges, a Daily Fitness Log, and raised funds and awareness for charitable organisations, such as the 2.6 Challenge on behalf of the National Brain Appeal and the Epilepsy Society.

Students also participated in the National Schools Sports Week at Home, organised by The Youth Sport Trust, with students and their families taking part in athletics, team sports, adventure sports and artistic sports. This provided fantastic preparation for our Virtual Sports Week in which the students logged House points, there were individual House winners in each age group and Gibbons House was crowned the overall winners.