We believe in the old adage: healthy body, healthy mind, developing and enjoying the exercise habit at an early age. We aim to foster enjoyment of as many activities as possible to instil a lifelong interest in sport, fitness and health.
All pupils take part in dedicated PE lessons with a specialist sports teacher that build skills in and a wide range of sports-based games and gymnastics. Alongside these lessons, an extensive fixtures programme provides pupils with regular opportunities to compete against other schools. Fixtures are organised on a termly basis, with hockey and rugby in the autumn term, football and netball in the spring term, and cricket and athletics in the summer term.Â
House events are held throughout the year, giving children the opportunity to represent their houses and compete against one another. These events develop a competitive spirit, the ability to win and lose graciously and understand the importance of team work.
Swimming lessons take place on Friday mornings at Ilkley swimming pool where we hold our annual school swimming gala.
A variety of extra-curricular clubs further enrich our provision including football, netball, fitness, dance and tennis. Cross-country running on Ilkley moor which is on our doorstep, supports pupils from all ages. We participate in the Wharfedale Cross Country League with great success. This takes place on Saturday mornings and features six races across the school year.
We are fortunate to have excellent facilities, including our astro-pitch and our indoor hall. For hockey, cricket and football fixtures, as well as our annual sports day, we use the facilities at Ben Rhydding Sports Club. A recent collaboration with Ilkley Football Club enables them to use our pitch at weekends for children’s coaching sessions.