Physical Education

A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities.  It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness.  Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect.

 

Physical Education (PE) inspires to succeed and excel in competitive sport and physically-demanding activities. PE provides pupils the opportunities to be physically confident in their health and fitness. Fairness and respect are values embedded through sport and activities build character.

 

Progression and assessment

Our progression has 3 key objectives which mirror the 3 aims of the subject.  We set out our expectations around Chris Quigley Essentials "milestones" approach.  Each milestone has a set of indicators that are repeated throughout 3 cognitive domains: Basics (we call it paddling), Advancing (we call it snorkelling) and Deep (we call it diving).  It is expected that the vast majority of pupils will have an advancing understanding by the end of the milestone and some will have a deep understanding.

Assessment and reporting

We assess the children each term against our skills matrix which help us to ensure that the children are making expected or accelerated progress. The children are assessed in all areas of the PE national curriculum. Our skills matrix was developed using the Chris Quigley Milestones alongside using a range of PE resources. 

Swimming

Swimming and water safety has been a requirement of the curriculum since 1994. The aim is for all children to leave primary school with a basic ability to swim competently. Requirements are broken down into three; swimming 25 metres, using a range of strokes, knowing how to self-rescue.

Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 all have 1 term of swimming lessons at our local Harpenden Leisure Centre.   97% of our Year 6 cohort are meeting the national curriculum requirement to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.  Any child not meeting these swimming requirements are offered lessons in Year 6 to get them up to this standard.

PE Fixtures Update

It has been a busy term for Team Harpenden Academy. 

Since January, Miss Harvey has been taking the children to two fixtures a week as well as a number of tournaments. 

The boys' football team took part in a very competitive league and have shown so much determination this season. The standard has been incredibly high, and the boys have shown excellent skills this season and all our games have been very close in league. The boys also went to Wood End fo the annual tournament and we were in a very tough group and the boys showed a lot of resilience and finished the day with a 3vs0 win over the Lea. 

The netball team have shown so much courage and resilience this year. The progress has been wonderful to see, and all the children have improved so much. We still are yet to play the netball rally and we hope it will take place in the summer term.

Professional Basketball Players visit Harpenden Academy

We had two professional woman basketball players in for a whole school assembly on Thursday morning - one of the girls was 6ft 3! They talked to the whole school about what it's like to be a professional basketball player and they then did a workshop for Year 5 and Year 6 girls. They said there are always spaces for keen boys and girls to join Oakland Wolves Basketball club. 

Girl’s Football Tournament 

On Thursday, Miss Harvey and Mrs Haines took the girls to the Grove Junior school for the football tournament. Once again, the girls had to face schools bigger than ourselves (Crabtree, Wood End, High Beeches and Manland). The girls were full of determination and fight. We started the day off playing Crabtree and losing 1v0 but we had far more chances yesterday than we did on Wednesday. We then played Manland who we have previously lost 2v0 in the league but yesterday we dominated play and won 1vs0. We then played High Beeches which was a scrappy game with both teams having chances. Unfortunately, they did not score in the last few moments and that is how football goes sometimes. We then had to play Wood End and they have been undefeated in 5 years and we played them the other day and lost 3v0. But yesterday the girls played incredibly and gave Wood End a real fight. They did score in the final few seconds from a very good goal by their academy player. Mr Barker (PE coach of Wood End) said that was the best game of football Wood End have had in 5 years. 

Cross Country

Well done to our Year 5 & Year 6 cross country team. On Friday, they competed in the Harpenden District Sports Association annual cross country. The children showed great resilience and determination. All the children performed well against all the schools in Harpenden and surrounding villages. A special well done to Oliver Price who finished 20th out of 80 children and did lead the race for a time. 

Rugby Legend, Jason Robinson visits Harpenden Academy

On Wednesday we were delighted to have Jason Robinson OBE deliver an assembly to the whole school, our parents and the Sir John Lawes Sports Leaders.  Jason has worked tirelessly to become the ultimate sportsman and is the only Englishman to have scored a try in a Rugby Union World Cup Final. Jason is now working with a team and visits schools showing children how you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do, no matter where you come from.

Jason has worked hard to devise a Sporting Achievement Programme that he can deliver to Primary School children to teach them about health, team-work, leadership and goal setting … you can read more about this programme on his website JR Sports Stars School Sporting Achievement.

Years 5 & 6 were lucky enough to have their PE lesson with Jason and his team and we were delighted to be donated free equipment which has doubled our PE stock in school. The equipment was kindly donated by Dr Bhandal and his team. This will make a huge difference to our PE lessons. Miss Harvey just now needs to pump all the balls up and find a home for it all. We cannot wait to deliver a greater variety of sport to our children. 

Saracens Rugby Festival

What a week it has been for Harpenden Academy Sport. On Tuesday, Miss Harvey took ten Year 6 children to participate in the Saracens Rugby Festival at Harpenden Rugby Club. The children played six matches against three different schools (playing each time twice). The children showed great determination and resilience, as some of the children had never played Tag Rugby. The children picked up the game really fast and scored many tries and they won all their games, all bar one match. Miss Harvey is looking forward to the District Tag Rugby Tournament in February. 

Football Team Success

Amazing effort by year six girls’ football team - lost first match 0-1 and won the second 1-0.

Year 6 Tolkien Class, Invasion Games

Team Tolkien continue to work hard on key aspects of invasion games. Today, we talked about game awareness and intelligent play

Dahl class are enjoying speed stacking in PE today!

Year 6, Shakeapeare Class, Cogheart routines

Year 6 Team Shakespeare gymnasts continuing their Cogheart routines focusing on capturing the mood of the prologue through creative balances and transitions.

Year 6 Cross Country Club

Such a great start to a Wednesday morning!

 

Year 6, Tolkien Class, Counter-Balance and Counter Tension

Team Tolkien experimenting with counter-balance and counter-tension, incorporating use of equipment for the first time.

Santa Dash, Whole School

On Friday 11th December 2020, all the children took part in the School Sports Partnership virtual Santa Dash. Each class completed a timed run appropriate to their age group with our a very youngest  children (Ladybirds) completing a lap of the playground to our oldest children running for 12 minutes. The children showed great resilience and determination even when their legs were tired.

Elmer Dance 

Year 1 have been creating their dance of hope to the song 'World in Union'. We focused on 'hope' as this is our new value for December

Potter Class 

In P.E it was performance week! The children were able to show their routines to their friends and give feedback. It was great to see their support for their friends as they gave them ways to improve and celebrated their successes. I was also impressed by the vocabulary they were using too.

Dahl and Dr Seuss Class

Fantastic examples of flight in year 5 gymnastics lesson and using teamwork and communication to support each other.

LKS2 Speed stacking 

LKS2 have shown so much resilience, especially when they were learning a new skill - speed stacking. The children used their new skill and competed in a virtual speed stacking event.

Year 6 Gymnastics 

Year 6 gymnasts so excited to be incorporating equipment into their counter balances’ routines along with varying dynamics such as speed, height and smoothness.

Year 5 Netball

In Year 5 Dahl class we have been learning new passes and putting them into practice for a mini netball game!

  

EYFS Reception Ladybirds, Races

This week, during PE, we did inter family group races organised by the PE leaders. We first did a hopping relay race then a skipping race and finally an egg and spoon race . Well done to th

Sporting Fixtures

This week has been a very busy week for Miss Harvey and many Year 5 & 6 children with a range of sporting fixtures. It all started on a cold, sunny and muddy Saturday morning at Verulamium Park. It was perfect weather for a cross country race. All the children showed great determination and resilience, so well done Isla, Grace, Lottie, Eva, James (Yr 5), Charlie, Adam and James (Yr 6). They all completed the race and ran all the way. Special mention goes to James (Year 6) who was the only boy competing from Year 6 and finished 57/150. Grace who finished 52/140. Adam showed excellent levels of athleticism finished 26/161. On Monday the Year 5 & 6 netball girls faced their first league match against a very strong St.Nicholas. The girls showed how much they have improved and it was lovely to see their willingness to learn. Spectators commented on how much they enjoyed their netball and their great team work. Thank you to all the parents that help walked the girls to SJL and umpired.

Year 5 & 6 boys had their first league match of the season. It was a closely fought match, with Roundwood having lots of chances earlier, countered by some strong defending from James and Zaffar. Lucas kept a cool head and made some great saves. Despite our efforts they took a 1-0 lead. The boys soon bounced back despite being one down. An excellent break down the wing followed by a great cross from Charlie. Boom, Adam found the back of the net, 1-1 at half time.

The 2nd half was much closer with both teams having chances. The final score didn't reflect the game, and after a great performance the boys have learnt a lot, final score 2-1 to Roundwood. It didn't finish there, with a friendly straight after. It was a similar game to before with Roundwood taking the lead. We certainly had more chances in this game. Adam scored again to make it 1-1 but it was a late free kick that secured the game for Harpenden Academy. Harry stepped up to take it and his strike was too powerful for the keeper to hold. From the rebound Adam was first to react and fired the ball into the back of the net. A great win for us!

On Thursday, we had the last fixture of the week. Year 6s travelled to Harpenden Rugby Club for the tag rugby tournament. All the children put their energy into every game. With Lottie and James both making a number of tries. The children remained so positive and they enjoyed themselves in the sunshine, it felt like spring.

More brilliant balances from Year 6 gymnasts

Cross Country Club

Amazing wintery start to the day at cross country on Tuesday

Cross Country Cross Competition

An amazing performance by our year five and six cross country teams on Tuesday.

• 5th out of 10 in the small schools category.
• 9th out of 15 in both girls and boys total points.

Not to mention the usual amazing resilience and team support shown by each and every one of our runners.  Thank you parent volunteers for your wonderful support too. Mrs Watson was particularly proud of the fact none of the children walked, they all kept running. She felt it was the strongest show from Harpenden Academy in the three years we have been taking part. It just goes to show the benefit of Cross Country Clubs on a Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you to Mrs Watson for attending and thank you children for putting up such a great exhibition of resilience and determination.

  

 

 

Cross Country Club

A wonderful last cross country of the half term- perfect Autumnal morning.

Harpenden Academy are the Go Challenge Primary School Champions! 

Congratulations we are proud to announce that we are the UK Go Challenge Primary School champions! We are very proud of our primary competitors - what an amazing achievement.

I'm delighted to say that SJL and Harpenden academy secured the following results:

· The overall UK Go Challenge School Champions are SJL

· The Go Challenge Primary School Champions are Harpenden Academy

SJL beat HA in the final for the overall title by half a point! SJL beat City of London school in the semifinal and HA beat Ilford school in the other semi. All results in each round were 2-1.

In the age categories we were also very successful:

· Emily won best u10 girl

· Auden won best u8 girl

All in all rather a successful day for Harpenden and the Scholars' Education Trust.

Ball Skills, Potter Class, Year 3

Potter Class learning how to throw and catch accurately within small sided games.

Girls' Football Team - Best Performance so far!

Harpenden Academy Girls’ Football Team had their first ever football match at Wood End school last Friday. Many of the girls had never played football before, and therefore we just wanted the girls to have fun. The girls showed so much determination and resilience as we didn't get off to the best start against Wood End. However, change of tactics meant the girls were focused and they gained a number of chances against Grove Juniors. The final game of the night was the girls’ best performance so far. The girls were strong in defence, with an excellent tackle made by Beatrix and Lottie. Keira made some excellent saves to keep Kimpton at bay. The girls created even more chances to score. Abby came close to scoring but unfortunately we couldn't find the back of the net. The game finished with a draw, which we were delighted by. The rest of the season looks very promising.

Moody Dancing, Year 6

This week Year 6 started their dance unit in PE by working collaboratively and       imaginatively to create a dance routine to reflect the mood of a piece of music (linked to our English story writing unit).

District Sports

Awesome first ever performance at Harpenden District Sports. Excellent positivity, determination and support for each other and other schools. Special thanks to Miss Harvey for making it happen!

Congratulations to our Year 3 & Year 4 Football Team who reached the Semi-Finals! 

Finally….we have success! The Year 3 & Year 4 football tournament was a brilliant experience for all children representing our school. The team won their group and got through to the semi-finals where they were beaten 1-0 by the overall winners of the tournament. The team have worked so hard, so has Miss Harvey—I’m even aware of an emergency football practice at Mrs Horsley’s house this weekend. Well done to the football team, parents and members of staff who have been collectively working hard to establish our football team.

Football Win for Harpenden Academy! 

The Year 5 & 6 boys played their final game of the season against Markyate.The boys dominated the 1st half, but their goal keeper made some crucial saves.We continued the 2nd half strong, and Felix found the back of the net. The boys remained strong and kept the ball out of our goal.The boys have shown great resilience this season and it has been our best season ever with 2 wins and 5 goals. 

Last Cross Country Club for the Spring Term

Last cross country of the Spring term- interval training in Rothamsted followed by treats from Simmonds. Well done runners on huge improvements in stamina and speed this term and a huge thank to the parents who volunteer every week to make this wonderful start to our Tuesdays happen.
Mrs Watson

Reception Ladybirds, High Energy Warm Ups & Ball Skills

In our PE lessons, the children are becoming very good at using the space during our high energy warm ups - adjusting their speed and changing direction as necessary so they don’t bump into each other! They also understand the need to exercise to keep healthy - we focus on getting our heart rate up!

Today we put our throwing and catching skills to the test by playing ‘tennis’ and ‘mini golf’! Working in pairs, the children had to throw the ball over the bench and allow one bounce before catching it. They then had to throw their beanbag into a tray, aiming carefully. They had to move to where the beanbag landed and throw again from that position. We were trying for a hole in one!!

Year 3 Kipling Class, Exploring the Apparatus

Kipling class, Year 3 exploring how to use the apparatus safely and how to travel across the equipment without touching the floor

Look what Father Christmas delivered! 

   

Over the Christmas holiday Father Christmas also visited Harpenden Academy and left us some rather wonderful PE equipment in the hall, namely a wall bar unit and climbing ropes. Miss Harvey is particularly excited but I am thrilled too. When I came to the school two years ago I remember saying the hall was crying out for gymnastic equipment and now we finally have it. I’m sure that it is the children who are going to have the most enjoyment from it—which is exactly as it should be!

Another Goal for Harpenden Academy Boy's football team! 

On a damp and muddy Wednesday afternoon, Year 5 and 6 travelled to Sauncey Wood for their next fixture in the local league. The boys took an early lead, but unfortunately Sauncey Wood came back with a quick goal. The 2nd half was much closer with both teams having great opportunities to score and both goalkeepers made some great saves to keep the game at 1 vs 1. It was tightly fought game in the mud. So well done boys, keep it up. The whole school is behind you. The rest of the season is looking positive for the boys and I hope this will be our most successful season yet. 

  

Cross Country

This morning we had a beautiful frosty run around the Common to wake up our bodies and brains. Such an invigorating and peaceful start to the day!

 

Cross Country Tournament

A wonderful performance from our Year 5 and Year 6 six runners at yesterday’s tournament. All runners showed excellent commitment and resilience, not to mention superb sportsmanship. A special mention to James in year six for coming fifth in his race out of over eighty runners- amazing!