Bootham and St Peters (York) - Sport

[stubiff]

I have seen quite a few posts that suggest St Peters is 'more sporty' than Bootham, or Bootham 'team sports is weak'.

What do people actually mean by that.

[EarlGreyTeaAndToast]

Bootham is a Quaker school. St Peter's is not.
There is a MASSIVE difference in team sports in the two schools. It's not just suggestive, it's the fact that Bootham's top team can't win against St Peter's C or D team 😏
Each school would suit a different personality. It's up to parents to decide which school their DC would be happiest in.

[stubiff]

Think that may be a sweeping generalisation!
The 'quality' of some of the teams may be different, agreed.

Anyway, agree that the ethos may be different and that the schools may suit different types, however I don't think you could generalise and say that if your child is sporty then you should choose St Peters.

Do you have children at either school?

[EarlGreyTeaAndToast]

They are both schools I have immense (personal) experience with, yes.
And no, I never said a sporty child would not suit boothams. Just that a parent has to choose what would suit their child's personality. And that's not just sport.

[stubiff]

Yes, sorry, meant 'one could generalise' rather than 'you'.

Agreed, for me the personality comes first, sport would be a nice-to-have.

The original question was more about the 'reasons' and I think, as you say, it's more about the 'quality' of teams rather than anything else.

Would you care to share your experiences?

[DrinkMilkAndKickAss]

I don't have experience of Peter's but this is my view.
The nature of sport seems different. In terms of team sports basketball, cricket and football and the boys' main sports with no hockey/rowing/rugby that you would get at Peter's. The teams do have a degree of success, depending on the cohort, but I think sports goes beyond just playing others schools to win. I get the impression that Bootham plays a lot more local leagues with other schools in the city for example. Although they may have mixed success, I think this is a really important part of schools getting involved with the local area which I think can be missed in the boarding school bubble. Don't get me wrong, the range of sports and facilities offered by a large, sporty school like St Peter's cannot be rivalled by a smaller school like Bootham, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's not sporty. There's plenty of opportunities to play and get involved with a variety of mainstream and slightly different sports, just not to such a high level. Having said that, for a child who is an exceptional sports player with a lot of outside commitments, a less sporty school where you aren't tied to school fixtures may also work.