Fifty students from schools across Cumbria travelled to WHS for a Youth Sport Trust Inclusive Sport Leadership Day on Friday.
The aim of the event was to promote inclusive sports in schools as well developing sport leadership skills in students, both with and without special educational needs and disabilities.
We were very lucky to have Rachael Mackenzie, Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentor and former World Thai-boxing Champion, to lead the event alongside WHS Inclusive Sports Lead Tracey Croucher, and our very own Sixth Form student, Oliver Wightman.
Oliver kicked off the day with an inspiring presentation about his journey in sport, and a question-and-answer session which he handled brilliantly.
All the students then took part in some icebreaking activities – a fast-paced game of rock paper scissors ensued with students dashing around the hall in a bid to compete with every other person.
Working in groups, students carefully considered what it means to be a good leader, before trying out various activities and contemplating how these could be adapted to make them more inclusive for everyone.
After a well-deserved lunch break, the students took turns to lead their activities and deliver them to other groups of students. With growing confidence and a greater awareness of what is required to be an effective leader, they displayed some excellent leadership skills. By now, all the students were fully involved, much more relaxed and clearly having fun!
The day was concluded with the students returning to their school groups to consider how they could make sport and PE more inclusive in their schools. We hope that they will go back and share their ideas and be able to put some of them into practice.
Having attended this day, the participants will now be offered the opportunity to lead on other inclusive sports events taking place in the county.
Thank you to all the schools who attended: Workington Academy, Appleby Grammar School, Richard Rose Central Academy and Sandside Lodge School in Ulverston. Congratulations to all their students – they were a real credit to their schools!
A huge well done also goes to our William Howard students who took part in the day and helped it to run smoothly.
Finally, thank you to Rachael and Tracey for running such a fabulous event, and to Oliver – a fantastic role model – for his inspiration and support throughout the day.
Rachael said: “For me, one of the biggest problems we face in society at the moment is loneliness and sport is a place where people find belonging.
“We need to try and give people in their communities a place where they belong but if we don’t build that volunteer network and the people who become the coaches of the future then that can’t happen.
“We want to inspire people and we want to help them learn how to make sport suit people’s needs so that everyone has a smile on their face.”
View the report in the News and Star: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/24918714.cumbrian-schools-attend-inclusive-sports-event-brampton/
