SPORTS AT SCHOOLS

Do you enjoy sports at school? In the UK everyone has to do a kind of sport at school until they are 16 but it’s not just football or netball these days. Every pupil in the UK has PE lessons and it is necessary for them to join these classes. Each school offers different sports activities for students so it is better if you choose a school where you can do your favorite activity. Generally, football is the most popular sport at school and it is played by both girls and boys. Students can also be a part of a school team such as netball, rugby, and basketball. If students don’t want to play in a team, they can do individual physical activities like athletics or gymnastics. Today, there are some schools that offer students various sports and physical activities like fitness, ultimate Frisbee and gymnastics. Let’s have a look at some of the new team sports in these schools.

The first one is netball. This is a competitive sport which is played between two teams. On each team, there are seven players and you score a goal by throwing the ball into a net. It sounds like basketball but the difference is that with basketball you can run with the ball but with netball you can’t do this. Most of the time girls play this sport.

Rounders is a very old bat and ball game and it is very similar to baseball. During the game, one team hits the ball with a bat and has to run around four posts or bases in the field. The other team throws the ball and tries to catch it or touch the post with the ball. If the runner reaches the 4th post on a no ball, the batting team scores 1 rounder. The team with the most rounders win the game.

Next sport is dodgeball. In this team sport, players throw balls at the players on the other team and try to hit them below their shoulders. If the ball hits you and you can’t hold it, you are out of the game! Don’t worry, the balls are soft and players can throw balls at the same time. When there are no players left of a team, the other team wins the game.

Finally, we have ultimate Frisbee, which is a game played by two teams of seven players on a field. You score goals by throwing the frisbee (a plastic disc) into the ‘endzone’, but be careful, you can’t run with the frisbee! The team which scores the most goals wins the game. The ultimate frisbee leagues are held in spring and summer in the UK.

On average, students who are aged between 14 and 16 do about 100 minutes of sport a week at school, but this reduces to 30 minutes a week for 17 and 18 year olds. Pupils who are very keen on PE can do sport out of school hours in the school gym after they finish lessons. Most schools have teams that play within the school and between two or more school leagues and competitions. Many schools also have links to sports clubs in the same town or city. These local sports clubs work together with schools to encourage young people to do more sport.