Do you have to pay for private school to get team sport?

[plainjayne123]

My children are in fs and yr2. At their state primary there is no competetive sport until yr 5 when they do after school clubs in football and high 5. Is this normal?

No.

Well, maybe at Y2 and YR. We have inter-school competitions in the summer in Y2 in tennis skills and athletics.

Y5 and 6 have all kinds of competitive inter-school sports, and Y3/4 are involved in rugby, cross country and athletics competitions.

Normal at our school.

Thanks

Why don't you get your child to join a sports club. If you pay for a private school then there is no guarentee that they will be picked for the school team.

In my experience the coaching at local clubs is far better than anything at a school. Your children with be with a group of children who WANT to be there.

At our school competitive interschool competitions start in year 3. Give it another year before you worry too much. Yr 2 is very young for that sort of thing.

My dc is in year 5 in an independent school and they have done serious competitive sport from year 4. Very serious! When my DC's was dropped from an A Team for a match, we had tears. But it's on the whole (despite disappointment) a positive thing. Loads of parents turn out and watch and there is a real 'team spirit'. I have driven an hour each way on a regular basis to offer spectator support (not in a pushy way - but just by being there!).
But ime, all the sporty inclined children at independent schools do outside sports clubs as well, in addition. Double the effort. But yes. My DC's outside hockey club, 95% are from independent schools who are very good at sport.

Many years ago my DS left his nice primary school: one session of "games" a week and erratic after school sports clubs run by teachers with varying levels of enthusiasm/knowledge in yr 3 and joined a prep admittedly boarding. He played games at least four times a week for at least 1 1/2 hours, football 1st term then rugby and finally cricket all taught by games specialists and often county players came in, matches against other schools at least once a week and PE on top of that once a week which included athletics swimming gymnastics volleyball plus after school clubs coaching in cricket all year round by cricket nut, plus fencing Olympic coach archery commonwealth games player judo horse riding swimming gymnastics etc.

Not normal at our state primary. They don't compete against other schools until they are in KS2. However, there are several after-school sports clubs available to all year groups, where they learn ball skills etc. And the KS2 PE curriculum is heavily weighted towards team games with balls (much to DD1's disgust!)

Competitive sport ( inter school and on to national level sometimes) starts in Year 3 at DS's school. Football, tag rugby, cross country running, netball, swimming, cricket and athletics.

mid size rural state school.