Aim

To provide a benefits driven sporting programme which supports universal advantages to all pupils, based on a breadth of activities, all delivered through a high standard of teaching and coaching in a quality controlled environment.

Ethos

We aim to engage and challenge all pupils to be their best self through a breadth and depth of sports and physical activities. Sport, PE and physical activity has the capacity to enrich lives, by building physical and mental health, and boosting academic achievement. Whilst we all like to win, and it is motivating to do so, our primary aim as educators is to increase emotional resilience through sport, as well as promoting proactivity and enjoyment.

Approach

Our approach is very much in line with the latest research recommendations of early sports diversification and late specialisation. This ensures that a wider pattern of movements, skills and knowledge are developed, leading to well-rounded athletes who possess the movement strategies that are transferable across multiple sporting environments. In fact, it is thought that the number of training hours required to achieve elite performance is inversely proportional to the number of sports played during adolescence.

A recent consensus statement in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on reducing the risk of burnout and injury in youth sport, encourages the diversity of sports training during early to middle adolescence, alongside structured physical training programmes. Additionally, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in America highlights the importance of physical conditioning programmes and delayed sport specialisation, to reduce the risk of paediatric injury.

Therefore, in most cases, keeping a wider participation across a breadth of sports is beneficial for long term success and wellbeing.

Benefits of PE, Sport and Physical Activity (Review of Literature by Loughborough University 2010)

• Physical activity has a positive impact on self-esteem, anxiety, depression, mood, and wellbeing, all of which may impact on academic achievement.
• PE, physical activity and sport have been shown to impact positively on the extent to which young people feel connected to their school; the aspirations of young people; the extent to which positive social behaviours exist within school; and the development of leadership and citizenship skills.
• Pupils engaging in sport and physical activity achieve 10-20% higher GCSE’s.
• Children and young people who are aerobically fit have higher academic scores.
• Perceptual skills, attention and concentration are all improved by a bout of physical activity.
• Participation in extra-curricular activities also has a positive effect on attainment.

Curriculum PE / Games and Recreational Clubs

The PE curriculum enables students to try and gain a level of competence in a wide range of activities – a practice that is proven to engender active habits for life, as well as helping to avoid sporting specialism too early. Curricular sport is taught by a team of experienced and dedicated specialist teachers. 

In addition, there are several recreational clubs at lunch, after school and at weekends, allowing students to further extend their sporting experience.

Representative Sport

Representative sport is perhaps the most visible part of the sporting life of the college, and we believe it provides a valuable opportunity to teach students the importance of responsibility, team work, perseverance and resilience. As such, we wish to provide every pupil with the opportunity to represent the school competitively, within both team and individual sports, in a regular pattern of fixtures, as well as within our half termly inter-house sports competitions. Opportunities to represent the school competitively exist in over twenty different sports.

The College possesses a group of highly committed and experienced coaching staff who use a range of teaching styles and create a player centred environment to develop the sporting performance of all students, whether they are just beginning to access a new sport, or performing at an international level.

Achievements

Queen’s College has recently been ranked the 16th best independent sports school in the country, and the second best in the South West, by School Sports Magazine.

Our hockey teams have reached the national finals or the last eight, on nine occasions in the last five years, and we have had four full England Hockey Internationals in 2016 alone. Our success is not just limited to hockey though, with international performers in swimming, cross country, polo, canoe polo and bobsleigh this year. In addition, cricket, rugby, athletics, fencing, triathlon, biathle, equestrian and tennis are all represented at regional or national academy levels by our existing students.

High Performance Athletes

We are committed to providing top class support to our high performing athletes. As such, our Elite Performance Athletes are invited to work one on one with our Head of Strength and Conditioning, and in consultation with the relevant Head of Sport, will ensure that the athlete is developing both physically, psychologically and technically throughout their time at Queen’s.

From September 2017, a number of athletes from Year 10 upwards will be invited to become part of the Sports Performance Programme. This programme will support athletes working towards high performance, through the development of a structured physical training programme and termly meetings with their mentor.

Hockey and Cricket Academy

We run a monthly Hockey Academy for gifted and talented players in Years 5 -10, under the watchful eye of our South African Olympian Director of Hockey, Ian Haley. These sessions are also open to talented hockey players in the local area. Please contact Ian Haley irh@queenscollege.org.uk for further information.

Our Cricket Academy is run by our Director of Cricket and former Somerset CCC player, Arul Suppiah, and Mark Davis, former Somerset and England A cricketer. Please contact Arul Suppiah avs@queenscollege.org.uk for further information.

Overseas Sports Exchange

Our recently established overseas sports exchange enables a small number of our students to play sport and study in one of our partner overseas schools, normally during our summer holidays. This has proved to be a fantastic development tool for our students to gain a broader sporting and cultural experience, whilst still within the safety net of a supportive school environment. We reciprocate by hosting a small number of students at Queen’s for a period of time, and this in turn allows a greater number of our students to benefit from socialising with students from another background. This programme is carefully controlled and run for the benefit of our pupils.

Facilities

At Queen's we are fortunate in being able to provide some of the best sporting facilities in the South West. Our superbly maintained playing fields extend to over 30 acres and provide seven rugby pitches, six cricket squares, a 400m grass athletics track and five rounders pitches.  We also have two Astroturf pitches providing us with superb hockey facilities, 22 tennis courts, six outdoor cricket nets and four outdoor netball courts.

Within the indoor sports complex we have a large sports hall, an indoor 18m swimming pool, and a dedicated strength and conditioning gymnasium which includes 18 cardiovascular stations and a substantial free weights area.

Commitment 

Saturday is very much part of the school week during term time and we expect pupils to be available to represent the school when selected. Details of fixtures can be found in the school calendar and on the sports website. There will occasionally be an event for which a pupil will have to miss a Saturday such as a wedding. With suitable notice provision can be made to fill the gap and thereby give someone else an opportunity. However, requests for absence which are late, or for relatively insignificant events, such as a party, are contrary to our team ethic and will be looked upon extremely unfavourably. We would ask parents to send a letter detailing any unavailability to the teacher in charge of the relevant fixture or to the Director of Sport, as near to the start of term as possible.

Academic PE

We currently offer the opportunity to study Physical Education at both GCSE and A Level with the AQA exam board.

Scholarships

Sports Scholarships are available for talented performers who will make a significant contribution to sport at Queen’s College, at 11+, 13+ and 16+.

More details are available from Admissions, but please feel free to contact the Director of Sport, Simon Copeland sjc@queenscollege.org.uk directly to discuss further.