The Little Picture- St Aldhelm’s CE VA Combined School
Evidence to support the link between the significance of physical education, club links and a young person’s overall development across subjects is highlighted here in the case of Street Surfing and Yr 6 pupils of St Aldhelm’s CE VA Combined School.
Pupils from St Aldhelm’s have regularly attended and feedback on one young rider from the school has been particularly noteworthy.
Miss Kennedy, Yr 6 Teacher ….”the pupil joined our school in the Spring Term of Year 5 from Longspee Special School. While he was in Year 5 his class teacher had never heard him speak. He spoke in whispers to his adult support. He also found it difficult to socialise with his peers.
When he entered my class in Year 6, he did not have the confidence to even answer the register and used to raise his hand to signal he was here. Two terms into Year 6 and he has been able to recite a poem, to the whole class. A huge achievement for a boy that rarely spoke at school even on a one to one level!
The pupil’s poem was about his passion for Street Surfing. He brought in his wave board as a prop for the performance. Street surfing is a talent that no one else in the class has and I solely believe that his passion for the sport gave him the confidence to speak aloud in front of the whole class.
With such a passion and confidence for street surfing we welcome him showing off his talent to his peers whenever he has a new trick to show. Previously not wanting people to look at him, now when he is street surfing, he is comfortably the centre of attention. From a boy who just a few months ago couldn’t even say ‘yes’ in the register, to reciting a whole poem, audibly outside to a very attentive class was amazing!
Without his passion for street surfing, I am sure that the speed of his learning would not be so fast. He has exceeded his targets at an unbelievable rate.
You can really see the progress that he is making in class. Seeing the change in him is really special. He never used to play with his friends but now at break times he is a happy boy who says ‘I just want to go and play!’ His previous teachers in Year 5 were amazed when they saw the video of his performance as they had never heard his voice before!”
If you have compelling evidence of the positive effects bought to your school or community by taking on the activity, either success of an individual or an impact across a group- we would be delighted to hear from you.
