Pupils at Calverley CE Primary School are being given a chance to improve their sport and PE skills with visits from expert runners, dancers and divers.
Triathlon World champion and Olympic silver medallist Jonny Brownlee will be running some Daily Miles with children in Year 3 and Year 4 next Monday.
Daily Miles see pupils and some staff members walk or run a mile each day which improves fitness levels and is good for mental health.
Jonny may also have the time to be involved in some PE teaching at the school.
Year 4 teacher and PE Leader Will Overton has arranged for the Academy of Northern Ballet to do some dance workshops at the schoolon the same day. The one-hour workshops, called Spotted, are for pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 and delivered by professional dance teachers from Northern Ballet’s Centre for Advanced Training team.
Some of the pupils might be talent spotted by the training team and be given a “golden ticket” to the You’ve Been Spotted! programme at Academy of Northern Ballet.
This could lead to further training and the possible opportunity to be a part of the Centre for Advanced training which provides a pathway to becoming a professional dancer.
Will Overton said:
“We are really looking forward to Northern Ballet’s and Jonny Brownlee’s visits which will further enhance our sport and PE provision. Our parents, local companies and sport and PE experts are now supporting the most comprehensive sports programme the school has had.”
In addition, members of the City of Leeds Diving Club were at the school to do Talent ID Assessments with a view to providing some lucky children with the opportunity to join the successful club.
The experts are among others who visit the school to coach pupils in a wide range of sports and PE activities which helped the school gain the School Games Mark Gold Award in 2018.
Over the past four years, development of sport and PE has resulted in an increase in the number of pupils taking up sport and PE activities and coaching sessions and led to the school gaining all three School Games Mark Awards – Bronze, Silver and Gold.
The school previously offered traditional extra-curricular sport staples, such as football for boys and netball for girls. The offer now includes football for boys and girls, athletics, cross country running, cricket, golf, climbing, gymnastics, tennis and orienteering.
Coaching in Rugby League is proving popular and is provided by former Otley and Keighley Cougars professional player Sam Gardner and players from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation.
Golf development, support by Calverley Golf Club, is also proving popular, as is cricket coaching, with support from the Chance To Shine coaching programme, assisted by Yorkshire County Cricket Club
“We are really pleased with the way things have progressed with sport and PE at the school. We have received additional help through sports kit sponsorship and from parents and the Friends of Calverley CE Primary, who supported the creation of our all-weather pitch.
“We have seen a notable increase in the number of children taking part in sport and PE activities, a rise in confidence and a gain in stamina which has resulted in pupils becoming better learners.”
Assistant Headteacher Jonathan Hallas, said:
