R I G HT, B E LOW RIGHT There's sporting variety at Heathfield BELOW Beaudesert Park games
Heathfield School
Beaudesert Park School
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eaudesert Park prep, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, offers exceptional facilities and Director of Sport Johnny Griffiths says there is a very clear ‘sport for all’ philosophy. “We have high-fliers – with three boys’ sports scholarships awarded this year alone – but it’s about one team, one school. We have to challenge everyone – not just the best pupils.” He welcomes school sport’s general shift away from emphasising results only. “Here we don’t just report the wins but the successes in other ways. Our Team of the Week is not awarded just to winners but to teams showing good values.” In-school initiatives are designed to enable children to improve, with wholegroup sessions to enable everyone to develop. While core sports are important, so too is variety, with golf, table tennis, fencing, judo, cross-country and equestrian, as well
as PE and more hybrid activities, on offer. Johnny Griffiths says ensuring sport for all is about creating the right environment – be it soccer coaching with “champagne moments” to enthuse football crazy but less able pupils or orienteering to give tech wizards some exercise. “Children of prepschool age are so easily influenced, so giving them positive experiences that match their passions is what it’s all about.” Beaudesert Park sees sport as adding a vital extra element to pupil development. The school runs a year 8 leadership programme to enable older pupils to mentor the younger ones. But Johnny Griffiths also looks beyond the leadership qualities to the other key parts of character development. “There’s the element of failure in sport – talked about a lot now – and we want children to understand that if they don’t fail they won’t progress. Sport ticks a lot of boxes to help children develop character and resilience. Above all, we focus on the idea of opportunity. If we can say as a school that we provide equal opportunities in sport then we have achieved our goal.”
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ith a stellar track record in sport, Heathfield School in Ascot also has exceptional former players on its staff. “Two of our lacrosse teachers played high-level lacrosse – one was on the England team for 13 years – and my background is in netball, where I played in the national league,” says Director of Sport Carys Willimott. Talented girls can draw on the staff’s expertise, not just in playing but in training, nutrition and recovery. “It’s easy for students to only see the glitz and glamour and so part of our role is to help them understand that there’s a lot more to it.” Carys Willimott is building the school’s existing strengths, as well as offering opportunities in other sports – basketball, hockey, tag rugby, water polo and volleyball, among them. “With our facilities we are able to bring in outside influences – Windsor Swimming Club train here, as do Eagles Netball Club. It’s good to have as it helps with motivating and inspiring our girls.” Teenage girls can be inclined to reject sport, but the school works hard to keep enthusiasm levels up. “The question we ask is: ‘if they don’t enjoy traditional sports, what do they enjoy?’” she says. “I’m a strong
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