PE and Sport

The PE department consists of three full time and two part time teachers with several other academic members of staff supporting games afternoons. Like traditional independent schools, the department run separate curriculums for both PE and Games. During the week Key Stage 3 students receive one session of PE and one Games afternoon, where as Key Stages 4 and 5 have one Games afternoon and the option for further sport during enrichment slots, which also covers the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.

PE
Physical Education lessons are two hours long and follow a ‘breadth and depth’ curriculum which aim to give pupils experiences of many different sports such as boxing, aerobics, table tennis, swimming, personal survival, ultimate frisbee and stoolball to name but a few.

Games
The Games curriculum follows a more traditional path and predominantly focus on the sports in which the school plays fixtures. The major sports run for a term and are boys football and girls hockey in the Autumn term, boys hockey and girls netball for the spring term and boys cricket, girls rounders and mixed athletics for the Summer term. The school also competes in sports such as swimming, the training time for which is predominantly delivered through the extracurricular activities program.

Fixtures
Fixtures are played during Games afternoons against a mixture of local state and independent schools. In general the school usually punches above its weight when considering the cohort size. In recent years we have been successful in a number of local and district tournaments including netball, street cricket and stoolball.

Facilities
The PE department use a mixture of on and off-site facilities to deliver their curriculum. On site there is a large games field, an astroturf with three tennis courts and two netball courts, a fitness suite, gym and two dance studios.

Our main off-site facility is Horntye Sports Park which has a sports hall and full size astroturf and is used for most Games afternoons and a proportion of fixtures. Other facilities used include Summerfields and Bexhill Leisure Centres. There is also a school pool at the Prep School site in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Trips & Tours
There are a number of annual trips and tours. The annual Dover College Sports exchange runs for Year 7 and 8 pupils and involved both a home and away leg. There are also bi-annual ski trips and sports tours which run during the Easter Holidays.

Scholarships
Sports scholarships are predominantly awarded to candidates who excel in football, hockey, netball, cricket and rounders. A number of scholarships are also offered for swimming.

Successful scholars are expected to contribute to their sport and others, whilst taking an active role with the leadership and running of teams. It is a given that they will be acting as role models for their peers and, as such, high levels of motivation and commitment to training and competition are essential.

The application process will involve candidates being required to:
– Be assessed live, either at an assessment day or in games during a taster day
– Be interviewed by the Director of Sport

More information on the sports scholarship process is available from the School’s Day Registrar on armstronga@battleabbeyschool.com or 01424 772385