Events NATIONAL SCHOOL SPORTS EVENTS 2021


ATHLETICS 3 July


9-10 July 4 December


CRICKET 7 July


6 September


– Track & Field Schools Cup Final (Bedford) – Track & Field Championships (Manchester) – Cross Country Cup Final (tbc)


– School Sport Magazine National Schools U18 Girls Cricket Finals Day


– School Sport Magazine National Schools U15 Girls Cricket Finals Day


NETBALL March


RUGBY UNION 22-24 March


TENNIS 7-10 July


– England Netball National Schools U14, U16 & U19 Championships (tbc)


– Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens


– LTA U18 National Schools Championships (Nottingham Tennis Centre)


4-5 December – LTA U13 Year 7&8 and U15 9&10 National Finals (Venue tbc)


If you have any dates and events you wish to be added just email us at info@schoolsportmag.co.uk Continued from page 23


or playing for GB, it’s about creating a lifelong passion for sport.”


The flipside of this is that running A- F team fixtures across multiple sports requires facilities, staff and logistical support. Some schools simply do not have the resources to call on to provide this.


Ofsted recognises the role competitive sport plays in building the whole person, enriching the student experience and improving


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out and putting your socks in your shoes so that they are there when you return), un-allotted time has been willingly spent and connections cemented be they from within the teams we coach, the events we


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higher than ever before. Missing the summer term may have been a factor which stimulated interest. However, the crucial difference was that all pupils who wished to take part could be accommodated. Without the limitation of team selection, participation soared, with many schools reporting record weekend engagement. It confirmed what many had always feared - that the selection of teams has a long term impact on the


participation and self-esteem of


those rejected. Many schools are now considering how these factors may be combined in the future and wondering whether the competition programme might start later in the term. School sport is still surrounded by unknown factors. The return of competition is a primary one. No one knows when matches might resume or what that programme will look like when it does. There may be unintended legacies. A year without school rugby might impact on


participation numbers the following season. On the other hand, it may lead to an unprecedented growth of the touch game. A prolonged period of alternative rules in netball might suppress enthusiasm for the game. Or it might make players desperate for its return. Weekend sport might look different in the future. There is no way of knowing.


Despite the short term restrictions, frustrations and endless precautions, it is not impossible that the pandemic


might also ultimately be judged as a period which allowed school sport to re-boot itself, adjust priorities and emerge stronger - and more relevant – than ever before. The power of collaboration, and of creativity, has proved to be considerable. Neil Rollings is the chairman of the Professional Association of Directors of Sport in Independent Schools (www.padsis.com), and managing director of Independent Coach Education


Issue No.81 January/February/March 2021 SCHOOL SPORT 47 host or the tours we plan.


So give us back the headaches. They are the icing, the cherry, and the fizz on an otherwise prescribed day. Without them some of us PE teachers may decide the


time has come to cross over to the shady side and teach geography. And, by the way, I do think myself lucky, very lucky indeed.


Robin Thomas is head of PE at Davenies School


the school ethos and recommends “that there is a well-structured and supported competitive sports programme that provides opportunities for all students to participate in competitive sport and stretches the most able.” But there is no doubt that this requires commitment from school leadership.


Astria Nairn, a teacher of PE at Sevenoaks, believes that, if possible, the investment is worth it.


She explained: “The difference between students left as ‘non- squad’ and having to participate in other activities and the pride when they put on their school kit and head out to another school for a fixture, is palpable.


“I think they learn so much from these experiences – whether it is the rules of the game, teamwork, communication, managing their subs, learning what is fair – and it is great that we can offer everyone


the opportunity to develop these lifelong lessons and skills.”


The future of fixture cards may have been unclear in recent months. But one thing is certain. Offering competitive sport at all levels is something that schools want to get back to as soon as possible – because it offers so many benefits for the students and staff involved.


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