Where most independent schools offer traditional sports, such as rugby, cricket and rowing, leading Gloucestershire school, Wycliffe College, is championing some of the more underrepresented sports on its curriculum.
Wycliffe offers basketball, squash, netball and even horse riding, and hosts an all-inclusive sports days each year, too.
As part of its annual sports day, Wycliffe is looking to modernise the perception of a traditional one by encouraging its pupils to try something new and compete in a sport they wouldn’t normally play, inspired by the Olympics.
Ben Taylor, director of sport at Wycliffe, said: 'We still have our ‘traditional’ sports day in the afternoon but the morning is turned over to encouraging students to move out of their comfort zone by taking part in a sport they don’t play very often or at all.
'Last year we had pupils trying things like fencing, basketball, shooting, table tennis and rowing.'
Research shows that sports participation in school is associated with higher levels of wellbeing for young people, as well as developing self-belief and mental toughness.
Ben said: 'Part of the aim is to level the playing field a little but it is also about being more inclusive and giving students the chance to discover a passion or skill at any point in their school career by avoiding the pitfall of putting them off at an early stage because they are not immediately high achievers.
'We have seen pupils excel in a sport often at a later stage, often in something they assumed they wouldn’t be any good at and we encourage pupils to try something new and push the boundaries.'
The school has also seen a massive rise in popularity for basketball, since it emerged that the sport would be championed at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after receiving a boost of nearly £3 million from the UK from UK Sport and Sport England.
Ben commented: 'We provide sport for pupils who are budding Olympians, those who want to try something new or those who enjoy sport at a non-competitive level.'
For more on the sport offering and curriculum at Wycliffe College, visit wycliffe.co.uk.
