The Wilmslow Academy's Physical Education and School Sports page
(Updated July 2024)
If you're interested in learning more about our PE, school sports, and physical activity, you've come to the right place. We are dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle and fostering a love for physical activity among our students. Whether it's through our diverse PE curriculum, competitive sports teams, or festivals, there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved.
Thank you for visiting, and we hope this page provides you with all the information you need to support your child's active and healthy lifestyle at The Wilmslow Academy.
How do we lead PE at our school?
At The Wilmslow Academy, our PE curriculum is designed to inspire and engage students through a broad range of physical activities. We focus on building confidence and competence and encouraging a lifelong commitment to health and fitness. The curriculum includes two hours of weekly lessons, emphasises fundamental skills from the early years through Key Stage 2, and incorporates swimming to meet national standards. The impact is evident in students' positive attitudes towards physical activity, the attainment of the Gold Games Mark Award, and high participation in extracurricular sports and competitions. Our approach fosters teamwork, resilience, and a deep understanding of healthy lifestyles.
Our PE coordinators are dedicated to promoting physical fitness and a love for sports through a carefully crafted curriculum. To learn more about our mission, philosophy, and the detailed framework of our PE programme, including our curriculum intent, design & impact, long-term plan, and end points, please visit our Curriculum page. Here, you'll find how we aim to deliver a dynamic and inclusive PE experience that supports every child's development and enthusiasm for physical activity.
Who leads PE at our school?
At The Wilmslow Academy, all our teachers deliver their own PE lessons, ensuring a personalised and consistent approach to physical education. Miss Wright and Miss Howarth, our enthusiastic PE coordinators, lead with passion and expertise. Miss Wright, a former dance teacher, uses her creative choreography skills to inspire students through dance, while Miss Howarth, with her background as a sports coach, excels in leading invasion games and enhancing our sports activities. Additionally, our teachers receive continuous professional development in areas where they feel they need support, ensuring they stay current and effective in their practice. Together, Miss Wright and Miss Howarth, alongside our dedicated staff, create a dynamic and engaging PE experience for all our students.
What does The Wilmslow Academy provide for after-school clubs?
At The Wilmslow Academy, we offer a variety of after-school clubs designed to encourage children to stay fit and healthy, and we are excited to expand these opportunities further this academic year. Students have the chance to work with coaches from local clubs, including Wilmslow Football Academy (WFA), Wilmslow Lightning Netball Club, and Premier Football Coaching (PFC). Some of these clubs are free and provide the opportunity to represent the school on the school team.
In addition to these external clubs, our teachers run various after-school clubs throughout the year, catering to a range of interests and developmental goals. These clubs are designed to:
- Develop character and life skills
- Enhance sport-specific skills
- Engage new audiences
- Improve health
- Increase motivation
- Foster social connections
- Develop physical skills
- Support individual development in sport
The clubs cover key areas of PE, including:
- Net & Wall
- Striking & Fielding
- Invasion Games
- Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)
- Athletics
Click here to visit the Premier Football Coaching (PFC) website
Click here to visit the Wilmslow Football Academy (WFA) website
Click here to visit the Wilmslow Lightning Netball Club website
What is the School Games Mark?
The School Games Mark is a national award recognising schools for their excellence in physical education and sport. Administered by the Youth Sport Trust, it awards Bronze, Silver, or Gold levels based on participation, competition, personal development, and sustainability.
We are thrilled to announce that The Wilmslow Academy has earned the Gold School Games Mark for the fourth consecutive year! This achievement highlights our commitment to promoting physical education and competition within our school and community. As we aim for the Platinum School Games Mark, we are confident that with continued effort and your support, we will reach this next milestone.
Who are the 'School Games Makers'?
The School Games Makers programme encourages young people to become leaders through sport and to motivate their peers to engage in physical activity.
At The Wilmslow Academy, Miss Howarth and Miss Wright guide our enthusiastic team of School Games Makers in promoting the Youth Sport Trust's 'Active 30:30' initiative. This programme supports the Chief Medical Officers' recommendation that children should be active for 60 minutes a day, with schools responsible for delivering 30 of these active minutes. Active 30:30 helps to influence how the remaining 30 active minutes can be achieved outside of school.
To support this goal, the School Games Makers organise fun physical activities for KS2 classes during breaktime and lunchtime.
One of the most popular events organised by our School Games Makers is the annual Talent Show, held every summer. You don’t have to be good at sport to participate! Whether you can sing, dance, play an instrument, do magic, tell jokes, or showcase any other talent, we want to hear from you!
What is the 'Daily Mile'?
The Government's 'Childhood Obesity Strategy' encourages primary schools to provide 30 minutes of physical activity daily. The Wilmslow Academy has joined over 20,539 schools in 97 countries, with 5,241,018 children participating in the Daily Mile! The Daily Mile is a social activity where children walk, jog, or run at their own pace for 15 minutes.
Schools doing the Daily Mile report that children are more motivated and resilient in the classroom. The University of Edinburgh's research confirms that the Daily Mile improves fitness, reduces body fat, and increases activity levels in children.
Here’s what some of our students say about the Daily Mile:
Matthew, Year 6:
"When I am not already running around, it makes me get up and increases my movement."
Mia, Year 6:
"It makes me feel refreshed and gives me a chance to relax and breathe when I am stressed."
Click here to visit the Daily Mile website
What are 'Brain Breaks'?
'Brain Breaks' are simple physical activities that can be used at the beginning of a lesson, between lessons or at the end of the day. They do not require equipment or lots of space, so they are great for keeping children alert and active during lessons when they would otherwise be sitting.
What competitions do we enter?
The Wilmslow Academy is part of a large cluster of schools that compete every year in a wide range of sports, including netball, football and rounders. Unlike many clusters around the country, we continue to have the support of staff at our local high school, who organise different competitions throughout the year.
As a member of the Aspire Academy Trust, we now have the opportunity to work with other schools, too. Macclesfield Academy hosted the Aspire Academy Trust Football Tournament, which was won by The Wilmslow Academy.
This year, we have entered the following inter-school events:
- Multi-skills
- Rounders
- Swimming
- Football league
- Netball league
- Trust football competition
- Cross country
- Little Champions
- Cricket
- Circus skills
What about swimming?
At The Wilmslow Academy, Year 5 and some Year 6 children have swimming lessons at Wilmslow Leisure Centre.
Year 5 swimming resumed in September 2022 and in March 2023 we had three weeks of on-site swimming.
Click here to find out more about swimming competence in Year 6 - 2018/2019
Click here to find out more about swimming competence in Year 6 - 2021/2022
Click here to find out more about swimming competence in Year 6 - 2022/2023
Click here to find out more about swimming competence in Year 6 - 2023/2024
What is 'Bikeability'?
Bikeability is a scheme funded by the Department of Transport. It is designed to give young people the skills and confidence to ride, especially on roads.
Each year at The Wilmslow Academy, our Year 4 and Year 6 children work with Bikeability instructors, first on the playground and then on surrounding roads. We consider this course an important step towards the children becoming more independent.
Click here to visit the Bikeability website
How do we spend the PE and Sport Premium?
Please read this document to find out how we have spent the PE and Sport Premium and what impact the funding has had at our school:
School Sports Premium 2017-2018
Anticipated use of Sports Premium 2018-2019
School Sports Premium 2023-2024
If you would prefer a hard copy of any of the information on any part of the website, please contact the school directly and we will get a paper copy to you.
Who are the School Games Parent Ambassadors?
A big thank you to Carly Heselwood, Gavin Reeves and Rick Bebbington, who have agreed to be Parent Ambassadors for PE and meet regularly with us to discuss how we can continue to improve our offer. They are interested to hear your feedback, positive or negative, about the PE provision at our school.
Click here to read Carly's profile
Follow us on Twitter!
We regularly tweet about the exciting things that we are doing at school. Why not have a look?
@TheWilmAcad #TheWilmAcadPE #ChooseTheWilmAcad