Mens sana in corpore sano

As I have written on many occasions, at Loughborough Grammar School we believe that physical activity is an essential part of wellbeing, and that participation in sport enhances the likelihood of academic achievement. Naturally, as our GCSE and A Level students take stock following their Mock examination, we appreciate that many are conscious of the significant improvements that they have to make over the next few months. Parents must not, however, think that the answer is to lock their sons away for four months, depriving them of sunlight and eliminating all recreation from their lives! There is plenty of time to maintain hobbies whilst revising thoroughly. The enemy is not leisure but timewasting. Having reiterated this point, I would like to bring your attention to our busiest week of school sporting fixtures in the entire year, emphasising the commitment of our boys beyond the curriculum.

We are referring to tomorrow, 2 February, as ‘Super Saturday’ as there are thirty fixtures taking place across all sports. This week there are no fewer than:

• 14 Rugby matches
• 13 Hockey matches
• 8 Football matches
• 4 Cross-country races
• 1 Badminton fixture
• 1 Basketball match

Over the course of the week, over half of all the boys will be involved in representing their school. Even if your son is not one of them, might this be an opportunity for him to support his friends at Quorn or at school? The link above gives full details of venues and timings. A cup of tea and pastries will be waiting for you and a hotdog for him. What else could a teenager want?

I should also stress that there are also many other options at school for those not interested in team sport. On Saturday there is 5 hours of non-competitive badminton, taekwondo on a Thursday evening and a lunch time ‘try martial arts’ session. Tuesdays and Wednesdays see water polo and swimming, and there is shooting at the CCF compound. Indoor cricket nets have also started and interested boys should be directed to Mr Gidley.

If this much activity makes you feel energetic, there is also ‘Early Morning Training’ that is open to pupils of any fitness level before school on a Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then to parents from 08:20 till 09:00 on the same days. It is a very supportive group, all working to their own aims and taken by Miguel Tomas, one of our Graduate Sports Assistants who is a qualified fitness instructor.

Thankfully, my recent conversations with those facing public examinations do not suggest that they are about to lock themselves away revising 24/7. On Tuesday evening, at the Year 13 Parents’ Evening, a boy (admittedly with some strong mock grades) was telling me how he was looking forward to cricket, as he would go ‘crazy’ without it. He needed something to look forward to in order to help his revision motivation.

My colleagues at the Grammar School, whether specialised sports staff or the many subject teachers who enjoy running teams alongside their classroom roles, generously give hundreds of hours a year running practices and supporting fixtures after school and at weekends to help provide boys with a healthy balance to their school lives. Please encourage your son to take full advantage!