Sport at Heywood is Highly Commended

We are delighted to have earned a ‘Highly Commended’ from the recent ISA Awards. This recognition is a testament to our commitment to providing high-quality, inclusive sports opportunities for all children at Heywood Prep. It reflects the passion, dedication, and hard work of our talented staff, as well as the incredible enthusiasm of our pupils. We remain proud of our achievements and excited to continue building a sporting environment where every child can thrive, discover their potential, and enjoy the lifelong benefits that sport can bring.

We would love for you to explore more about our sports program in the article below.

Sport for all

Sport at Heywood Prep is a microcosm of the school as a whole. At its heart is opportunity for all, an experience tailored to the individual child, with high-quality provision and a commitment to helping children discover and explore something that could transform their lives. The results we have seen this year are a by-product of this ethos, where the richness of experience naturally leads to strong outcomes on the pitch or field. But it is the experience that remains our focus.

We are small – two-form entry of around 16 children per class. On paper, we should be no match for the independent preps around us, bigger in both pupil numbers and campus size. Our on-site sports facilities are restricted to a tiny Astro pitch, a hard-standing playground for netball and tennis, and one grassy area that doubles as sports field and play area. Yet our results prove that excellence is not about facilities. 12 short years ago, only the oldest had a chance to play sport competitively once or twice a term. Now every child from Y3 up plays each week, and we more than hold our own. We have been awarded the School Games Mark for the past three years, and have created an environment where children know that sport is for each and every one of them.

The experience

Director of Sport Chris Knight has built an ambitious, carefully planned sports programme. It combines several strands, from core curricular sports lessons, to co-curricular clubs, camps and experiences, external providers and community engagement, and it is a critical component of the school’s unique Individualised Learning Programme. It is delivered by a talented team of enthusiastic staff, supported by the whole school community, and is at the very heart of Heywood’s offering.

Outstanding provision is for every child, from those with natural early talent, to those whose skills develop more slowly. A school of our size couldn’t achieve the results we do by relying on ‘star’ pupils – our guiding principle is inclusivity from the start. We help pupils understand that becoming a successful sportsperson is just a matter of enthusiasm, intention and time. Take the pupil who joined us in Year 3 as an Academic scholar, so sports averse, that he refused to even put on a bib. Now with encouragement and the careful building of skills and confidence, he is a valuable member of our ISA athletics team. Success is where every child enjoys sport and, regardless of their level of ability, is able and keen to participate.

From the Nursery, children are taught by specialist PE teachers who deliver fundamental skills – footwork, balance and co-ordination – to a high standard. The abiding rule is ‘fun’, and building skills is a side effect of enthusiastic and joyful participation.

This approach continues into the main school. We introduce competition at a young age with fun games, house competitions and sports days, where ice cream rewards take the place of cups and medals. Winning and losing, and not taking either too seriously, are best addressed early, before a first external match ends in tears.

From Years 3-6, every child will play a weekly competitive fixture. The life-skills this teaches are manyfold: organising your games kit; negotiating travel; integrating with other children; adapting to new environments; supporting each other on and off the pitch; and leadership. We talk about being match strong – ready on every level, so that by the time you reach the pitch or court, you are half way to success, and feeling positive.

Beyond lessons

Heywood’s Individualised Learning programme gives children from Year 3 a daily half-hour session in a wide range of subjects, tailored to their skills and interests. We can use it to extend pupils’ sporting abilities, whether they qualify as GAT, or would benefit from focused attention. This opportunity for targeted coaching has undoubtedly accelerated our sporting successes to ISA, county level and beyond.

Heywood Prep offers around 40 clubs daily, including sports, from hockey skills sessions with our own staff, to expert rugby coaching from Team Bath. Pupils can also try individual sports, including fencing and judo. Ex-Heywood pupils have gone on to fence internationally for Team GB, having discovered the sport here. When a pupil showed promise on our annual ski trip, we suggested he compete in the English Schools Indoor Ski and Snowboard Championships, where he achieved U9 Ski Champion. We have now put together a team for the ISA nationals in September. We run a Y4 sports tour of Devon for all pupils, and a sports tour to Belgium is planned for next year.

Staff

Several of our amazing sports staff are qualified secondary school teachers. We see the benefit across all sports: correctly learning the Fosby flop in high jump gave pupils a huge advantage in the South West ISA Athletics, where they took gold in both Year 5 and 6. We have also been able to accelerate talented athletes, allowing them to compete up a year.

Staff are themselves eager athletes. All have played sport to a high level, most still play competitively, running marathons and half-marathons. They model the opportunities and joy that sport can bring, and infuse sports sessions with their commitment and enthusiasm.

Wider community

Our on-site facilities may be restricted, but our position at the heart of the local community is critical. Our training fields are Corsham Cricket Club, AFC Corsham Football Club and Biddestone Sports Grounds. As well as providing us with beautifully maintained grounds for training and matches, these relationships with local sporting organisations are symbiotic. We feed pupils into club sport, taking the skills they have honed at Heywood Prep, broadening their experience, and benefiting from the experience and talents of external coaches. We are regular attendees at professional fixtures in Bath, and are flag bearers at Bath Rugby and ball girls at Bath Netball. We also host the Mid Wilts Primary Schools Cross Country with 300-400 runners and host football and cricket matches for local primary schools.