SPORT

Our Sports department provided an outstanding variety of in-person and online activities for all students and staff to become engaged in physical activities. Although there were inevitable restrictions in light of the pandemic, promoting physical exercise for good mental health was a key priority.

Once lockdown was lifted, in addition to daily sports activities, the department offered weekend training sessions across the school from Year 3 to Year 13. These sessions were a which were a resounding success with activities ranging from netball and lacrosse to athletics, tennis and rounders. Fun fitness activities were also included, such as orienteering and fitness using the X-Trail, kindly donated by the Parents’ Guild.

The Elite Athlete Mentoring Programme continued with online talks and lectures offering a quality programme of support, advice and mentoring for our Elite level athletes. The programme uses the expertise of external professionals in nutrition, sports psychology, rehabilitation, and injury prevention and offers access to individual support from staff. We have also continued our symbiotic links to incorporate Saracens Rugby, Saracens Mavericks Netball, Saracens High School, The Scottish National Lacrosse Squad and the England Lacrosse Junior Talent pathways and the Senior SuperLeague structure as well as potential partnerships with Middlesex Cricket and Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club. PE Week focused on all-round physical fitness and our community’s mental health and wellbeing. We had remote sessions with a Saracens Mavericks Player and Coach, Kat Ainsworth. Our Strength and Conditioning Coach and Welsh and Great Britain Lacrosse player, Laura Warren, worked with students on the latest tactics and principles of competitive play, including trialling some of the proposed Lacrosse Olympic rules and format. The generous sponsorship from Saracens and Wray Foundation has enabled us to continue to provide access to this elite level of coaching.

Physical activity played a prominent role in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Week, with a large carousel of activities on offer encouraging us all to be active. The whole Senior School enjoyed a wealth of activities on top of their usual sports, led by academic staff members, including hula hooping, tag rugby, couch to 5k, walking club, volleyball, and dancing.

We created competitive challenges with our international sister schools in Dubai, Jeju and Singapore to create fundraising opportunities to assist with digital poverty affecting our neighbouring communities with access to remote education possibilities. In conjunction with Saracens, we held a sponsored ‘Laps for Laptops’ fundraising event, featuring a virtual House challenge and our virtual run, swim and athletics fixtures within the NLCS community of schools to raise funds for students in our extended community. The Year 7 Dance display was a fantastic event featuring our newest students. The whole of the year group took part in class dances performed in the PAC and recorded for parents. The programme featured some outstanding pieces created by a Year 13 student as part of their Extended Project Qualification providing a unique event highlight.

Students from Years 7 to 13 eagerly rehearsed in preparation for the Annual Gym and Dance display in the summer term. The dance-based theme included a superb selection of stunt group cheerleading displays and focused gymnastic performances.