Sport
At St. Anthony’s we strive to ensure that Physical Education and Games facilitates the holistic development of each individual pupil.
We have a ‘Sport for All’ ethos, whereby every boy from Year 4 to 8 participates in competitive sport against other schools.
We encourage and nurture the importance of participating in physical activity as part of leading an active, healthy lifestyle. To this end we hope this forges a life-long trend for participation in sport.
It is hoped that on leaving St. Anthony’s, each pupil will have the awareness necessary to be sympathetic to the needs of others in a social and sporting context.
Facilities
St. Anthony’s are lucky enough to use Brondesbury Cricket Club as our main sports ground. The club is a ten minute bus journey from School and has the following facilities;
- 6 x U11 Football/Rugby Pitches
- 2 x U13 Football/Rugby Pitches
- 2 x Cricket Pitches
- 3 x Artificial Cricket Nets
- 7 x Tennis Courts
- 2 x Squash Courts
- Athletics equipment including High Jump, Long Jump, Javelin and 400 meter track
On site we have a newly refurbished 12 x 6 meter swimming pool and two playgrounds with markings for football, cricket and basketball. Our PE lessons take part in the indoor hall which has space for Gymnastics, Health Related Fitness and Dance.
We travel to various external facilities to supplement our Sports curriculum. These include Lords’ Cricket Ground for pre-season cricket training, Powerleague Mill Hill and Willsesden Athletics Stadium.
Curriculum
All boys at St. Anthony’s take part in Swimming, PE and Games each week. In addition, our extra-curricular activities provide the boys with the opportunity to take part in Sport every day of the week.
Reception to Year Three
From Reception to Year Three, the boys take part in one swimming lesson a week where they refine key skills to ensure they are confident in deeper water by the time they reach the Senior House in Year Four. They also work through the ASA Swimming Awards to monitor progress.
The boys take part in a PE lesson each week where they refine gross and fine motor skills and coordination. The topics in PE are Gymnastics, Dance, Hand-Eye Coordination, Tennis and Cricket.
Years Two and Three travel to Brondesbury each Tuesday morning to take part in our Games curriculum. They rotate between Football and Rugby in the Christmas and Easter Term, before moving onto Cricket, Athletics and Tennis in the Summer.
Year 4
Boys in Year Four take part in one Swimming lesson each week where they continue to work through the ASA Awards, but also prepare for competitive Swimming Galas with other schools.
Year Four travel to Brondesbury twice a week for Games on a Monday and Thursday morning where they rotate between Football, Rugby and Hockey for the Christmas and Easter Term, before moving onto Cricket, Tennis and Athletics in the Summer. They also begin to take part in competitive fixtures with other Schools in Football, Rugby, Swimming, Cross-Country and Cricket.
Years Five and Six
All boys in Years Five and Six take part in competitive fixtures every Monday afternoon. They have an additional Games session on a Thursday afternoon. They take part in Football, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Athletics, Swimming, Tennis, Table-Tennis and Duathlon.
Years Five and Six have one Swimming lesson a week, where they begin to look at Water-Polo, Life saving and prepare for local and national Swimming Galas.
Years Seven and Eight
Years Seven and Eight have one PE/Swimming lesson a week and two Games sessions a week. Their fixtures take place on a Wednesday afternoon, with their training session taking place on a Tuesday afternoon. We compete in block fixtures and national competition in the School’s major Sports of Football, Rugby, Hockey and Cricket. We also take part in Cross-Country, Basketball, Squash, Swimming, Table-Tennis, Tennis and Duathlon fixtures with other Schools.
The first half of each term is spent in PE. Their PE curriculum includes Basketball, Health Related Fitness and International Sports. The second half of each term is spent in the Swimming Pool where they take part in stroke-technique, Water-Polo and life-saving.
Extra-Curricular Clubs
We facilitate an extensive extra-curricular programme which includes Football, Rugby, Cricket, Table-Tennis, Basketball, Swimming and Dance. These clubs take place at the main School site before and after School throughout the year.
Success
We enjoyed a very successful 2017/2018 Academic year in Sport. We won a high percentage of block fixtures in Football and Rugby across the School and boasted various other achievements from individual teams and boys. The highlights of these successes include;
- National Sailing Champion
- Bedford School Cricket Sixes Bowl Winners
- St. Martin’s Futsal Finalists
- IAPS National Table Tennis Finalist
- Multiple U11 Cross-Country wins
- U11 Regional ISFA Football Finalists
- Multiple Gold Medals at both the IAPS and Catholic Schools Athletics
- Two Sport Scholarships at Mill Hill and London City Schools