Gold award school pupils make mark
AFTER a fun and busy year of sporting events, Marshside Primary School, in Southport, has been awarded the Gold School Games Mark Award for the 2018/19 academic year.
The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme, launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community.
Marshside Primary School was delighted to have been recognised for its success, with the Gold award after a year of games including quidditch, dodgeball, boccia and trampolining.
Schools are measured against a number of areas, with Marshside Primary School being recognised for a wide range of sporting achievements, including:
Providing all pupils with two hours of timetabled curriculum PE per week, with an extensive range of additional extracurricular activities.
69% of children engaged in extra-curricular activities every week, either at lunchtime or after school.
58% of the “least active” pupils now engaged in extra-curricular physical activity every week, through innovative initiatives and activities.
During the year, children have had the opportunity to compete in NGBapproved intra-school competitions in 12 different sports; and NGBapproved inter-school competitions in nine different sports.
An extensive calendar of sporting events throughout the year, provided all children with the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of physical activity.
Marshside Primary School has developed strong links with a large number of local community sports and leisure providers; inviting them into school and signposting children to their clubs.
In addition to the achievements measured and recognised by the
School Games Mark, children have also been keen to use their sporting enthusiasm to help themselves develop healthy lifestyles and raise muchneeded funds for local causes.
They have taken part in Healthy Lunch Week challenges and food and nutrition workshops led by Sefton Active, as well as a large number of PE enrichment days including the “muggle” version of Harry Potter’s magical game, quidditch.
The school’s leaguewinning football team was even given the fantastic opportunity to play on the pitch at Goodison Park, as part of Everton Football Club’s Angry Birds Egg Cup 2019.
They came down the tunnel and onto the pitch to the sirens of Z-Cars, before playing a series of tough matches and proudly finished runnersup in the tourn-ament, being presented with medals by Everton FC legends Steven Pienaar and Graeme Sharp.
In July, children took on the school’s Queenscourt Trekkers Daily Mile Challenge, where every child ran, walked, skipped or danced, for a mile around the school grounds every day in the run-up to the school’s Sports Day. A Marshside Primary School spokesman said: “Children worked tirelessly to gather sponsorship for the event, along with Queenie’s support on their Sports Day, and raised a staggering £1,210 for Queenscourt Hospice!
“To achieve the GOLD School Games Mark Award, for a relatively small school, is an incredible achievement and wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless work and dedication of all school staff, sports coaches, volunteers and our fabulous children!
“We are already looking forward to this year’s activities, building on our fantastic achievements, which will be kick-started by our very own Ninja Warrior Day with Jonny Urszuly, the Last Man Standing from the 2017 TV series!”
Marshside Primary School would like to invite people to come along to their Open Morning, on Thursday, November 14, so everyone can see for themselves all the fantastic work that goes on daily in the school.
The Open Morning will start at 9.45am, with guided tours running at 9.45am and 10.45am.
For more information, contact the school office on 01704 211 177.