Sport is an important and integral part of the curriculum and life at Avon House Preparatory School. The physical education curriculum is delivered by qualified specialist teachers throughout the school. The progressive and diverse curriculum develops pupils’ understanding and ability across a broad range of activities. This is in turn supplemented by our Daily Mile Club which gives all pupils in Year 2 – 6 the opportunity to run before school and improve their fitness.
Avon House benefits hugely from the special partnership it has with The Woodford Wells Club. We are able to fully utilise the spacious facilities in our PE and Games lessons provision. There is also an extensive list of After School Sports Clubs opportunities for pupils which continues to grow. All our pupils are Woodford Wells junior members and a lot of them participate in the different sports offered by the Club throughout the year.
Prep Department
On a weekly basis, the Prep pupils take part in one Physical Education lesson and a double Games session. In addition, there is a fortnightly swimming lesson for pupils at Loughton Swimming pool whilst PE and Games lessons benefit from the space and facilities offered by The Woodford Wells Club. We look to develop pupils’ understanding and skill acquisition across a range of sports and physical activities. Embedded in the PE delivery is an awareness of personal health related fitness and the importance of caring for their own well-being.
- Autumn Games – Football and Netball
- Autumn PE– Cross-Country and Tag Rugby
- Spring Games – Tag Rugby and Hockey
- Spring PE – Basketball and Gymnastics
- Summer Games – Cricket and Tennis
- Summer PE – Athletics and OAA activities
Pre Prep Sport
The Pre-Prep pupils have two Physical Education lessons a week. The PE activities look to improve their agility, balance, co-ordination and ball skills. These are the building blocks for future sports and activities that our pupils participate in. Integral to their games learning and delivery are the basic principles of defence and attack.
Inter House Sport
The Inter House Competitions are an integral and exciting part of school life. They give every pupil the chance to represent their house in a variety of competitive events. There are separate Year 3/ 4 and Year 5 /6 competitions. The competitions include Cross-Country, Football, Netball and Hockey. As well as being highly competitive, the Inter-House events always look to promote sportsmanship and fair play amongst our pupils. The pupils also all compete for their house on Sports Day in a variety of track and field events. The Victor Ludorum and Victrix Ludorum awards are given to the best male and female athletes on the day.
Outdoor Adventurous Activities
All pupils in the Prep Department attend an outdoor activity centre at the start of the school academic year. A variety of local activity centres host different Prep year groups where they develop their team work, problem solving and communication skills. Outdoor adventurous activities have strong links with the geography curriculum and also consolidate other areas of PE such as developing confidence, fine motor skills and competence in the outdoor environment.
The Summer Term also sees all the Prep year groups embark on their own residential visits to outdoor activity centres: –
- Year 3 Gilwell Park Scout Centre (1 night)
- Year 4 PGL – Bawdsey Manor-Suffolk (new- 5 nights)
- Year 5 Normandy-France (5 nights)
- Year 6 Stubbers Adventure Centre (5 nights)
Representative Sport at Avon House
As the school continues to grow in size, we have introduced squad training for different sports which looks to better prepare our pupils for representative competitions. We compete in different competitions within Redbridge such as Football, Netball, Cricket, Tag Rugby, Hockey, Cross Country, Swimming and Athletics. Pupils enjoy representing the School as it promotes a sense of comradeship and togetherness in different sporting environments. The School also competes in a number of Independent Schools Association (ISA London North) tournaments and galas, and this year we are the host of the Tennis, Tag Rugby, and mixed Cricket competitions for the London North area.
Ski Trip
Each year pupils have an opportunity to join with a local school to go skiing in Italy. Based in a pupil friendly resort they attend ski school and learn the principles and skills to ski safely in stunning surroundings during the Easter holidays.
