Sports Academies
Combine sport and study
Opportunities for 16-18 year olds to study, practise and compete in sport have grown considerably in recent years, but there has been a missing component. Although there are now many courses in PE and Sports Science and opportunities to play in school and club teams, it has not been possible to combine study for qualifications with high quality day-time coaching fully integrated into a student's programme of study. Sports Academies now provide this. They:
- combine full-time academic study with sporting development
- provide regular high quality day-time coaching for individuals and teams
- bring together like-minded, motivated and talented young sportsmen and women
- integrate sporting development with fitness, dietary, health and technical guidance
- provide all-year support in a coherent programme
- enable participation in regular challenging fixtures and regional and national competitions
- provide use of specialist sports facilities and equipment
- provide opportunities to take national governing body awards in the respective sport.
How they work
Because subject and course choices at Worcester Sixth Form College are so broad and flexible, it has been possible to create a Sports Academy coaching programme in one of the timetable option blocks. This enables students to choose AS/A2, BTEC, GCSE or other courses in the other option blocks, each containing many other subject choices. Students can therefore follow a full programme including their sport.
In the time set aside for the Academy, students meet four times a week for nearly five hours in total and, in addition, have Wednesday afternoons or non-College time to train, practise and compete in fixtures. The coaching programme is provided by Club, District or Regional coaches of national bodies and also by College staff and, where helpful, there is a close connection with a local sports club committed to youth development.
Murray Andrews
The Chantry High School
Studying Classical Civilisation seemed obvious to me as I wanted to study Archaeology at university. It encompasses a massive amount of diverse subjects, from literature and architecture to philosophy and history, all of which are very interesting. Consequently, it can overlap with all manner of subjects. I studied Politics and Film Studies alongside it, and it was interesting to see how the analytical tools developed in studying literature in Classical Civilisation impacted on studying Film Studies. Likewise, the impact of the ancient thinkers on western politics is very apparent. The course is well-staffed with some great teachers, and the trip to the British Museum was really fun and informative. I will be studying Archaeology at University College London next year.|
