Meet Dylan Campbell –Our New Director of Sport

In anticipation of his arrival as Director of Sport at Bancroft’s at the start of the Summer Term, three L6th students were set the task of interviewing Mr Dylan Campbell. Mr Campbell currently works at Mount St Mary School in Sheffield, an independent boarding school of just under 400 students. In this article, we aim to give you an insight into our new teacher’s life in order to get to know him better!

What were your first impressions of Bancroft’s and its pupils?

Mr Campbell liked the energy amongst the pupils. Their desire to always strive to do more is something he believes that he will be able to channel and direct in the best possible way – improving the physical and mental wellbeing of students. As sport is such a quintessential component of many of our lives, having a Director of Sport who relates to and admires the hustle and bustle of the school will surely be welcomed.

What are you most looking forward to?

Making a positive impact on our school is at the heart of Mr Campbell’s intentions. Encouraging students to perform sports that they enjoy day-in day-out, dovetails with one of our core school values: balance. Remembering that we can be commended for sporting excellence (another one of our core school values) and not just academic prowess will be a meaningful way of uplifting the sports department at Bancroft’s.

How do you think it is going to be different from your current school?

At Mr Campbell’s current school, there are approximately 375 pupils, and so a big difference will be handling a larger cohort of students who are interested in sport. Having said that, he noted that Bancroft’s is much more academic than his current school, Mount St Mary, which is more sports-based. With new challenges comes growth, and so we are sure that Mr Campbell will embrace these differences with an open mind!

Being South African, how often do you visit the country and what do you miss?

Mr Campbell is of South African descent and lived there for most of his life before moving to England. He currently goes back to visit his home nation four times a year. One of the main reasons for this is so that he can see his four-year-old son who still lives in South Africa. When asked about what he misses the most about South Africa his response was ‘’the heat!’’. Clearly living here in England does not bring all the perks!

How do you want to raise the profile of sport in such an academic environment?

Mr Campbell would like to create an environment where exercise is a big part of peoples’ lives. He mentioned introducing sport to people as “opening up a new dimension” in their lives. He wants everyone to appreciate the value that sport can bring, even those who are in the Sixth Form and are applying to universities! University sport is extremely competitive, and some universities even offer sport scholarships. I think we can all agree with Mr Campbell that we would love people to be attracted to Bancroft’s not only for academic reasons, but also for the standard of sport played at the school!

What sports do you play and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

In Mr Campbell’s spare time he enjoys playing a variety of sports such as cricket and football and even some more out of the ordinary sports, such as water polo. He also enjoys coaching, which is apparent by his role as a sports teacher. He likes going on runs as well; not only does he go on a run four times a week but he has taken part in both marathons and triathlons in the past.

Quickfire Questions

Morning lark or night owl?

Morning lark

Beach or mountain?

Beach

Clubbing or quiet night in?

Quiet night in

City or countryside?

City (it used to be countryside having lived there in South Africa, but he loves the city in the UK)

Football or rugby?

Rugby Cats or dogs? Dogs

Rich and famous or rich and unknown?

Rich and unknown

Playing sports or watching sports? Playing sports