Sport in schools is currently high on the government agenda and the fitness of children is a hot topic across all media. If we are to believe all the doom mongering it would appear our youngest generations are plunging into a downward spiral of irreversible sloth and obesity. However Central Government, regional bodies and schools are making strides towards making competitive sport and participation fashionable again.
One state school in Herefordshire is a point in case. Currently over 60% of pupils at Bishops' School, Hereford takes part in extra-curricula activities. It has a wide base of 20 different activities for pupils to take advantage of starting at basic participation level the structure then builds to a highly competitive level for the school's very best athletes.
Recently Bishop's School sent an unprecedented number of pupils into the Midlands top rugby teams to play for the region in Divisional Championships. And a recent tour of New Zealand - the true powerhouse nation of world rugby - saw Bishops win four out of five matches including a stunning victory over a Canterbury side previously undefeated for five years!
Clearly they must be doing something right, but what is it and why are more schools not achieving this level of success?
Head of PE Steve Bradley described the environment that has inspired 290 of 570 boys at the 1100 pupil school to play competitive rugby. "We have a very competitive structure in place that sees nine matches taking place on any given Saturday." However the encouragement that has led to such a level of involvement is not the sole key to Bishops success.
Bradley believes it is the combination of a large base of pupil involvement linked to a handful of additional factors that makes Bishops an almost unique comprehensive school in the UK for sporting success.
"The training intensity is high enough and targeted enough to develop these athletes at the right rate for example our scrum half players will put in 20 minutes of dedicated passing practice every day. Not only that but the physical development of our players is very well controlled. We run a fitness club every morning where 100 or so pupils show up at 8.00am. They use wall bars and develop their movement skills, co-ordination and functional power by training with Powerbags.
"Our link to local business Performance Technology Ltd and Dr. Mark Bellamy has been hugely important to us. Mark has sponsored the school with 16 Powerbags and has been a wealth of support and advice regarding the physical conditioning and performance enhancement though the correct use of this tool. Thanks to Powerbag and correct training techniques we have been able to physically dominate other schools and that includes the notoriously tough South Sea Island players we encountered on our NZ tour!"
Mark Bellamy added, "In recent years there has been so much concern about leaving pupils behind who are not sporty but this seems to miss the point entirely. By providing facilities and opportunities for all, Bishop's School has proved that the atmosphere created and pride generated by a relative few - in this case its rugby teams - has an enormously uplifting effect on the whole establishment. In turn this creates an inspiring environment that allows pupils to thrive and improve across a wide range of sporting and academic activities.
"Through my work in introducing Powerbag and guiding the boys through the myriad or training disciplines it affords I've been so impressed by their desire to learn, apply and improve. If the rest of the school benefits from even a fraction of that attitude it can only be better for it."
Steve Bradley concluded, "Getting so many things right has meant that we play at a higher level than many schools and our players become used to exposure to high quality opponents, thus it is easier for them to step up and perform at county, Midlands and even representative level than for players from schools where the general expectation is lower.
“It also must be said that this motivation is not all about the rough and tumble of the rugby field. It translates into the other sporting pursuits available at Bishop's School and the classroom where results are becoming increasingly impressive. So many of our pupils are motivated to succeed in different avenues of life and we do our utmost to help them make that happen. Put simply we have put together a set of conditions that makes success a more likely outcome. Bishops Schools’ sporting achievements are living proof of what can happen when this mix comes together. |