Sport The Preparatory School provides a wide range of sporting opportunities for our students. The emphasis is on opportunity, giving our students the opportunity to participate and the opportunity to compete. Sport is a very important co‑curricular area as in many cases it allows students to be part of a team and develop several important skills that may be transferred into other areas of their lives. The Preparatory School sports programme aims to provide:
Physical Benefits
• Improved fitness, strength, flexibility and co-ordination;
• Increased range of motor skills. Social Benefits
• Improved communication and interpersonal skills;
• Improved leadership and co-operation skills;
• Opportunity for lasting friendships; • Increased interest in accepting responsibility;
• Ability to assume responsible risk-taking.
Personal Benefits
• Enjoyment; • Increased self-esteem, self-confidence, and general well-being;
• Improved ability to concentrate; • Self-discipline, commitment, and responsibility;
• Organisational skills. In 2021, there were strong participation numbers in Years 7–8; the students embraced the sports options on offer.
The new mountain biking option was well received by Year 7–8 students. We also fielded a girls’ team in the New Zealand Shield (Cricket) for a third year running. There are already 20 girls wishing to play in 2022, most of whom have no previous experience but are keen to take part. There is a strong cohort of Year 6 and 7 players coming through, and they began practising in Term 4. Due to COVID-19, the AIMS Games did not go ahead in 2021, however the rugby team was able to tour, taking part in a Festival of Rugby at St Peter’s School in Cambridge. This was a successful tour and enabled the players to meet students from several schools around New Zealand. In 2022, it is hoped tours will again take place domestically due to the lack of certainty around international travel. Hopefully, hockey, netball, and football will take part in the 2022 AIMS Games in Tauranga, and rugby will attend the Independent Schools’ Festival of Rugby at St Peter’s in Cambridge. 27
